iii 


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^i^^OTHeaSeHMONS 


Mac  Arthur 


5T  2-3.2. 

JlTriim  li|p  ICtbrarg  of 

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Prtitrfton  Shfnlontral  g>rmtttary 

BX  6333  .M33  A8 
MacArthur,  Robert  Stuart, 

1841-1923. 
The  attractive  Christ     I 


THE  ATTRACTIVE  CHRIST 

AND  OTHER  SERMONS 


/ 


T 


HE  ATTRACTIVE  CHRIST 
AND  OTHER  SERMONS 


ROBERT  STUART  MacARTHUR 


/  think  I  understand  somewhat  of  human  nature,  and  I 
tell  fou  .  .  .  that  Jesus  Christ  was  more  than 
man.  ^Alexander,  Ccesar,  Charlemagne,  and 
myself,  founded  great  empires ;  but  upon  what 
did  the  creations  of  our  genius  depend  ?  Upon 
force.  Jesus  alone  founded  his  empire  upon  love, 
and  to  this  very  day  millions  would  die  for  him. 

— SJCapoUon  'Bonaparte 


Philadelphia 

amcrtcan  JSaptist  publication  Societ^s 
MDCCCXCVm 


Copyright  1898  by  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society 


jfrom  tbc  Society's  own  press 


PREFACE 


Most  of  the  sermons  contained  in  this  volume 
were  preached  in  the  Calvary  Baptist  Church,  New 
York,  on  consecutive  Sunday  mornings  during  the 
last  few  months.  The  discourses  preached  on 
Sunday  evenings  during  the  same  period,  and 
during  a  few  additional  months,  will  be  published 
under  the  title,  "  Sunday  Night  Lectures  on  the 
Land  and  the  Book." 

It  is  the  sincere  desire  and  prayer  of  the  au- 
thor that  all  readers  may  experience  the  power  of 
"The  Attractive  Christ,"  and  may  at  last  rejoice 
in   "The    Beatific    Vision"    of   the    King    in    his 

beauty. 

ROBERT  STUART  MacARTHUR. 

Calvary  Study,  Jan.,  1898. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

SERMON 

I.  The  Attractive  Christ 9 

II.  The  Healing  Lord 27 

III.  The  Divine  Trustee 4i 

IV.  The  Sanctifying  Truth 57 

V.  The  Burning  Bush 73 

VI.  The  Allotted  Task ^9 

VII.  The  Comprehensive  Desire 103 

VIII.  The  Manifold  Keeping "9 

IX.  The  Greater  Works ^35 

X.  The  Everlasting  Arms ^S^ 

XI.  The  Masticated  Word 167 

XII.  The  Wonderful  Engraving 183 

XIII.  The  Instructive  Eagle  . 201 

XIV.  The  Righteous  Garments .  219 

XV.  The  Intrepid  Statesman 235 

XVI.  The  Royal  Penitent 251 

XVI I.  The  Practical  Thinker 267 

XVIII.  The  Empty  Tomb 281 

XIX.  The  Fulfilled  Pentecost 297 

XX.  The  Beatific  Vision 3^3 


THE  ATTRACTIVE  CHRIST 


And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all 
men  unto  me. — fohn  12  :  J2. 


JESUS  CHRIST  is  the  most  attractive  Personage 
the  world  has  ever  known.  This  truth  was 
clearly  indicated  even  at  the  dawn  of  human  his- 
story.  He  is  the  Shiloh  in  Genesis  ;  the  I  Am  in 
Exodus  ;  and  the  Star  and  Sceptre  in  Numbers. 
In  Deuteronomy  he  is  our  Rock  ;  in  Joshua  he  is 
the  Captain  of  the  Lord's  Host ;  and  in  Job  he  is 
the  Redeemer.  He  was  David's  Shepherd  and 
Lord ;  and  in  the  Song  of  Solomon  he  is  the  Be- 
loved. In  Isaiah  he  is  the  Wonderful,  Counsellor, 
the  Mighty  God,  the  Everlasting  Father  and  the 
Prince  of  Peace.  In  Jeremiah,  he  is  the  Lord  our 
Righteousness  ;  in  Daniel  he  is  the  Messiah  ;  in 
Zechariah  he  is  the  Branch  ;  and  in  Haggai  he  is 
the  Desire  of  all  nations.  In  Malachi  he  is  the 
Messenger  of  the  Covenant  and  the  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness. He  is  John  the  Baptist's  Lamb  of  God, 
and  John  the  Evangelist's  Vine,  Way,  Truth,  Life, 
Light.  The  Apostle  Peter  speaks  of  him  as  the 
Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  souls  ;  and  in  the  book  of 
Revelation  he  is  the  Alpha  and  Omega,  and  also 
the  Morning  Star.  These  are  but  a  few  of  the 
attractive  titles  applied  to  Christ  on  the  page  of 
inspiration.  He  was  the  world's  desire  as  indicated 
by  the  longing  and  hoping  of  the  world's  greatest 
thinkers.     He  was  the  perfect  man  of  Plato's  ideal 


12  THE    ATTRACTIVE    CHRIST 

conception.  He  was  the  dream  of  poets,  the  hope 
of  philosophers,  and  the  inspiration  of  painters 
and  sculptors.  He  is  our  hope  in  life,  our  support 
in  death,  and  he  will  be  the  theme  of  our  tri- 
umphant song  in  eternity,  when  we  shall  crown 
him  with  many  crowns.  At  the  time  in  his  earthly 
life  to  which  our  text  refers,  he  proved  his  attract- 
iveness in  a  remarkable  way.  Much  is  said  in  our 
day  as  to  the  importance  of  securing  preachers 
and  pastors  who  can  "draw"  ;  but  no  pulpit  can 
truly  have  drawing  power  except  Christ  be  uplifted 
therein. 

There  has  been  considerable  difference  of  opinion 
as  to  the  time  in  our  Lord's  life  when  the  words 
of  the  text  were  spoken.  Some  affirm  that  the 
visit  of  the  Greeks  took  place  on  the  day  of  our 
Lord's  triumphal  entry  into  Jerusalem,  and  others 
that  it  was  later  in  the  Passion  week.  The  visitors 
were  not  Hellenistic  Jews.  There  is  reason  to 
believe  that  they  were  Gentiles  who  had  become 
proselytes  to  righteousness  ;  and  these  are  distin- 
guished from  proselytes  of  the  gate.  Even  heathen 
writers  mention  the  fact  that  so  many  Gentiles 
had  adopted  parts  of  the  Jewish  worship  that  Juda- 
ism was  extended  through  all  parts  of  the  civil- 
ized world. 

These  men  came  to  Philip.  Philip  hesitates  at 
once  to  present  them  to  Christ.  He  therefore 
tells  his  friend  Andrew,  and  they  together  impart 
to  Christ  the  desire  expressed  by  the  Greeks.  In 
the  approach  of  these  Gentiles,  who  were  hunger- 


THE    ATTRACTIVE    CHRIST  13 


ing  after  salvation,  Christ  sees  the  first-fruits  of 
the  great  harvest  which  would  be  reaped  after  his 
crucifixion  and  ascension.  He  sees  now  the  great 
possibiHties  which  are  soon  to  be  secured  when 
his  gospel  shall  have  been  preached  to  all  nations. 
Stier  has  said  :  "  These  men  from  the  West  at  the 
end  of  the  life  of  Jesus,  set  forth  the  same  as  the 
magi  from  the  East  at  its  beginning;  but  they 
came  to  the  cross  of  the  King,  as  those  to  his 
cradle." 

Our  Lord  in  the  text  shows  how  the  grand  con- 
summation to  be  brought  about  by  the  preaching 
of  his  gospel  is  to  be  accomplished.  Satan  is  to 
be  cast  out  of  the  realm  where  he  had  so  long 
reigned,  and  Christ  is  to  be  triumphant  as  the 
ruler  over  the  hearts  of  men.  Only  as  the  corn 
of  wheat  falls  into  the  ground  and  dies,  can  it,  by 
a  fundamental  law  of  nature,  bring  forth  much 
fruit.  Not  otherwise  is  it  with  Christ  himself. 
He  must  give  his  life  as  a  vicarious  sacrifice  that 
his  gospel  may  be  preached  and  that  many  may 
be  saved.  A  similar  law  applies  to  the  life  and 
work  of  all  his  disciples  ;  only  as  they  die  to  the 
lower  life  can  they  live  for  the  higher  and  diviner 
life.  Already  our  Lord's  soul  is  passing  into  the 
darkness  of  the  last  terrible  struggle.  But  in  the 
midst  of  this  unspeakable  sorrow  there  comes  a 
voice  from  heaven  assuring  him  that  the  name  of 
God  would  be  glorified  again  as  it  had  been  glori- 
fied in  his  obedience  in  the  past.  At  his  baptism 
the  heavenly  voice  came,  giving  him  cheer  and  in- 


14  THE    ATTRACTIVE    CHRIST 

spiration ;  on  the  mount  of  Transfiguration  the 
voice  of  the  Father  again  was  heard,  expressing 
his  pleasure  in  the  obedience  of  the  beloved  Son  ; 
and  now,  as  another  stage  in  his  earthly  career  is 
begun,  that  same  voice  is  once  more  and  for  the 
third  time  heard.  The  great  crisis  in  the  history 
of  the  race  is  at  hand.  Our  Lord  sees  the  triumphs 
of  his  completed  work.  He  is  to  be  recognized  as 
king  when  the  rebel  empire  is  overthrown.  His 
soul  is  lifted  up  from  its  sorrowful  depths  to  heights 
of  ecstatic  joy.  He  appears  before  us  in  the 
wonderful  attractiveness  of  his  vicarious  work  as 
the  substitute  for  sinners,  and  as  the  triumphant 
king  of  glory,  who  opens  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
to  all  believers.  Let  us  learn  the  characteristics  of 
the  wonderful  drawing  here  described,  the  elements 
of  Christ's  attractiveness  when  he  is  lifted  up  to 
the  cross  and  to  the  throne. 

I.  TJiis  is  a  personal  drarving.  Christ  draws  all 
men  and  draws  all  men  unto  himself.  It  is  re- 
markable when  we  pause  to  reflect  on  the  sublime 
egotism  found  here,  and  so  often  elsewhere  in  the 
life  of  our  Lord.  No  other  than  he  might  so  use 
the  first  personal  pronoun ;  there  is  no  sense  of 
unfitness  in  his  use  of  that  pronoun.  He  is  con- 
scious of  imperial  power  as  he  utters  these  words ; 
and  we  seem  to  be  conscious  of  his  absolute  right 
to  the  possession  of  that  power  and  to  the  utter- 
ance of  this  form  of  speech.  There  is  a  kingly 
majesty  in  our  Lord's  words,  even  when  spoken  in 
the  lowliest  place  which  he  occupied  when   upon 


THE    ATTRACTIVE    CHRIST  1$ 

earth.  There  is  no  feeling  of  incongruity  on  our 
part  between  the  words  which  he  uttered  and  the 
character  which  he  possessed.  We  feel  that  one 
living  the  life  he  lived  rightfully  might  speak  the 
words  which  he  employed.  There  is  here  an 
almost  unconscious  argument  on  his  part  for  his 
full,  his  absolute,  and  glorious  divinity.  Were  a 
mere  man  to  speak  as  did  he,  he  would  prove  him- 
self to  be  hopelessly  insane.  Such  a  thought, 
however,  never  occurs  to  us  when  we  are  studying 
the  sublime  and  divine  egotism  of  the  Son  of  God. 
This  consciousness  of  imperial  dignity  and  this  em- 
ployment of  kingly  speech  belong  by  divine  right 
to  the  Son  of  God.  We  read  the  messages  of 
kings  and  queens  in  our  own  day  as  they  address 
their  parliaments,  and  their  use  of  the  first  per- 
sonal pronoun  in  speaking  of  armies,  navies,  par- 
liaments, and  foreign  courts  may  create  a  smile ; 
but  we  recognize  the  conventional  appropriateness 
of  their  language  when  we  consider  the  theory  of 
their  governments.  But  in  listening  to  the  ego- 
tism of  Jesus  Christ  we  feel  at  once  that  it  is  not 
egotism  in  the  ordinary  acceptation  of  the  term, 
but  the  appropriate  language  of  him  whose  ex- 
alted mission  and  character  gave  him  a  divine 
right  so  to  speak.  His  language  is  the  more 
striking  when  we  reflect  that  he  was  the  captain 
of  our  salvation  without  an  army  or  a  soldier,  and 
the  king  of  glory  without  a  courtier,  and  that  he 
was  now  marching  in  sublime  self-sacrifice  to  the 
cross  to  die  for  the  world's  redemption.     It  is  true 


1 6  THE    ATTRACTIVE    CHRIST 

that  elsewhere  the  evangelist  John  speaks  of  this 
drawing  power  as  possessed  by  the  Father  alone, 
but  here  it  is  ascribed  to  the  Son.  Before  the 
glorification  of  the  Son  this  special  divine  work 
was  attributed  to  the  Father,  but  after  that  glorifi- 
cation the  Son  himself  draws  to  himself.  There 
is  this  co-working  between  the  Father  and  the 
Son ;  there  is  prominence  given  now  to  the  act 
of  the  one  and  now  to  the  act  of  the  other. 

2.  We  observe,  also,  that  this  is  conditional  draiv- 
ing.  We  are  not,  however,  to  suppose  that  our 
word  "if  "  expresses  here  any  doubt  or  uncertainty 
that  Christ  should  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth. 
The  word  is  elsewhere  used  to  signify  certainty 
rather  than  doubt.  What  is  the  real  meaning  of 
the  words,  "be  lifted  up".''  We  are  quite  sure 
that  they  represent  our  Lord's  being  lifted  up  on 
the  cross.  All  doubt  on  that  point  is  removed  by 
the  language  of  the  verse  following  the  text : 
"This  he  said,  signifying  what  death  he  should 
die."  This  is  the  primary  meaning  of  the  language 
here  used  by  Christ.  He  was  lifted  on  the  cross 
as  a  spectacle  to  men  and  angels.  He  hung 
thereon  between  earth  and  heaven,  as  if  unworthy 
of  both.  Christ's  cross  was  in  a  real  sense  his 
throne  of  power.  He  sways  a  sceptre  to-day  of 
spiritual  dominion  over  men  because  once  he  died 
on  the  cross,  the  vicarious  sacrifice  for  the  sin  of 
the  world.  His  enemies  supposed  that  when  they 
lifted  him  to  the  cross  they  had  forever  destroyed 
his  power  as  their  foe  and  his  influence  as  the 


THE    ATTRACTIVE    CHRIST  1 7 

Redeemer  of  men.  The  cross  is  still  a  mighty 
attraction.  Men  who  die  for  their  country  or  for 
their  race,  live  again  as  mighty  forces  in  com- 
manding the  world's  affection  and  reverence. 
Never  did  Satan  commit  a  greater  blunder  than 
when  he  led  to  the  betrayal  and  crucifixion  of 
Jesus  Christ.  Satan  over-stepped  the  limits  of 
wisdom  and  proved  that  though  he  is  knowing  he 
is  not  omniscient,  and  although  he  is  powerful  he 
is  not  omnipotent. 

But  our  Lord's  thought  passes  from  the  cross  and 
goes  up  to  the  throne.  He  realizes  so  fully  his 
promotion  to  the  right  hand  of  God  that  he  in- 
cludes both  forms  of  exaltation  in  the  words  here 
employed.  His  elevation  to  the  cross  was  but  one 
step  in  his  exaltation  to  the  throne.  In  the  won- 
derful description  given  us  by  the  Apostle  Paul  in 
the  second  chapter  of  Philippians,  he  traces  our 
Lord's  descent  from  the  throne  of  equality  with 
God  to  his  death  upon  the  cross.  He  then  begins 
the  glorious  ascent  until  he  sees  the  Crucified  One 
exalted  above  all  principalities  and  powers  and 
bearing  a  name  which  is  above  every  name.  He 
also  sees  all  things  in  heaven  and  in  earth  and 
under  the  earth  bowing  at  the  name  of  the  cruci- 
fied and  glorified  Christ,  and  he  hears  every  tongue 
confessing  that  he  is  Lord  to  the  glory  of  God  the 
Father.  The  cross  was  inseparable  in  the  life  of 
Christ  from  the  crown  and  the  throne.  In  a  real 
sense  this  is  true  in  the  life  of  all  his  followers. 
They,  as  truly  as  he,  must  bear  the  cross  if  they 


1 8  THE    ATTRACTIVE    CHRIST 

are  to  wear  the  crown.  The  Holy  Spirit  came  as 
Christ's  ascension  gift ;  he  was  to  take  the  things 
of  Christ  and  to  show  them  unto  men.  But  for 
the  ascension  and  enthronement  of  Jesus  Christ, 
we  could  not  have  had  the  descent  and  manifesta- 
tion of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  language  of  Christ  will  also  include  his  ex- 
altation in  the  preaching  of  his  word.  No  pulpit 
can  have  genuine  power  except  it  manifestly  pre- 
sents Christ  crucified  to  worshiping  assemblies. 
He  so  uplifted  is  still  the  mightiest  magnet  to 
draw  men  and  women  from  self  and  sin  to  holi- 
ness and  heaven.  We  see  how  wonderfully  the 
gospel  won  its  triumphs  after  the  descent  of  the 
Spirit  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  Christ's  exalta- 
tion was  then  complete  and  the  manifestation  of 
his  power  was  glorious  and  divine.  When  upon 
the  earth  he  fed  a  few  thousands  with  the  bread 
that  perisheth;  but  after  his  exaltation  to  the 
throne  he  commissions  his  servants  to  give  the 
bread  of  life  to  every  creature  under  heaven. 
During  his  earthly  ministry  he  was  limited  to  the 
Jewish  people ;  but  after  his  crucifixion  and  ascen- 
sion he  offers  his  salvation  to  all  men  irrespective 
of  nationality,  country,  or  clime. 

3.  We  observe  that  this  was  also  certain  draiving. 
The  condition  of  Christ's  exaltation  having  been 
met,  the  power  of  Christ's  attractiveness  was 
made  absolutely  certain.  We  are  here  informed 
that  he  "will  draw  all  men."  There  is  no  doubt 
as  to  the  power  going  out  from  Christ  when  ex- 


THE    ATTRACTIVE    CHRIST  IQ 

alted  to  his  throne.  There  was  a  mythological 
fable  that  Jupiter  had  a  golden  chain  which  he 
could  at  any  time  let  down  from  heaven,  and  by  it 
draw  the  earth,  with  all  its  inhabitants,  to  himself. 
This  chain,  it  is  supposed  by  the  interpreters  of 
mythologies,  represented  the  union  of  earth  and 
heaven,  that  it  represented  the  government  of 
both  by  the  chain  of  causes  and  effects.  It  was 
called  a  golden  chain  to  express  the  beneficence 
of  providence  in  its  drawing  power  upon  the  earth 
and  its  peoples.  What  is  here  vaguely  set  forth 
in  legend  is  literally  taught  in  the  text,  regarding 
the  power  of  the  exalted  Son  of  God.  While  to 
some  his  cross  was  a  stone  of  stumbling,  it  was  to 
others  a  lodestone  of  irresistible  attraction.  There 
is  to  this  hour,  and  there  will  be  forever,  a  mys- 
terious, majestic,  ineffable,  attractive  influence 
emanating  from  the  cross  and  the  throne  of  Jesus 
Christ.  All  men  must  recognize  the  uniqueness 
of  his  place  in  human  history.  Even  now  in 
many  parts  of  our  country  assemblies  of  socialists 
and  anarchists,  who  hate  the  name  of  the  church, 
cheer  the  name  of  Christ.  To  them  the  church 
is  the  symbol  of  a  cold  and  unchristian  Christian- 
ity ;  and  to  them  at  the  same  time  the  name  of 
Christ  is  synonymous  with  gentleness,  helpfulness, 
lowliness,  graciousness,  and  brotherly  kindness. 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  wonder  of  the  world's  his- 
tory. His  cross  stood  at  the  confluence  of  three 
streams  of  civilization.  On  the  mount  of  Trans- 
figuration Moses,  as  the  representative  of  law,  and 


20  THE    ATTRACTIVE    CHRIST 

Elijah,  as  the  representative  of  prophecy,  disap- 
peared in  the  shadows  of  the  Hght  emanating  from 
Jesus  Christ;  so  that  the  apostles  looking  up  "saw- 
no  man  save  Jesus  only."  All  men,  whatever  their 
creeds  and  characters  may  be,  must  reverence  the 
blended  humanity  and  divinity  which  were  mani- 
fested in  the  Son  of  God.  His  name  is  to-day 
the  mightiest  name  to  move  men  to  the  noblest 
deeds,  and  to  inspire  them  with  divinest  aspira- 
tions which  human  lips  can  pronounce.  We  need 
not  fear  that  the  exalted  Christ  will  ever  lose  his 
power.  Whatever  changes  may  come  in  Christian 
thought  and  creed,  in  church  form  and  life,  Jesus 
Christ  will  still  be  in  his  divine  attractiveness 
"the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever."  Be- 
neath his  cross  I  take  my  place  to-day  without 
doubt  and  with  hope,  without  depression  but 
with  enthusiasm,  knowing  well  that  his  gospel  is 
still  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one 
that  believeth.  The  power  emanating  from  the 
exalted  Christ,  exalted  to  the  cross,  to  the  throne, 
and  in  the  pulpit,  overthrew  the  most  ancient  sys- 
tems of  heathen  philosophy  and  mythology,  and  in 
the  ever-brightening  future  it  will  achieve  similar 
triumphs,  and  Shintoism,  Brahminism,  Buddhism, 
and  every  unchristian  •'  ism,"  with  all  their  priests 
and  votaries,  will  yet  bow  the  knee  to  the  Son  of 
God ;  and  every  tongue  throughout  earth's  re- 
motest bound  shall  proclaim  him  to  be  Lord  to 
the  glory  of  God  the  Father. 

4.    The  attractiveness  of  Christ  is  also  a  gcjitle 


THE    ATTRACTIVE    CHRIST  21 

drawing.  This  thought  is  suggested  by  the  word 
here  translated  "will  draw."  It  signifies  here  a 
gentle  rather  than  a  forceful  drawing.  It  is  not 
the  word  that  would  be  employed  to  suggest  draw- 
ing by  violence.  Christ  draws ;  he  does  not  drag. 
Christ  wins ;  he  does  not  force.  Christ  draws  by 
the  "cords  of  a  man."  It  may  still  be  said  of  those 
who  are  sweetly  drawn  by  the  power  of  Christ 
that,  "Thy  people  shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of 
thy  power."  God's  power  is  manifested  in  draw- 
ing men  to  Christ,  in  harmony  with  the  laws  of 
our  nature  which  God  himself  has  conferred. 
Christ  is  represented  as  standing  at  the  door  of 
the  heart  and  knocking  for  admission.  With  one 
blow  of  his  resistless  hand  he  might  shatter  the 
door,  but  that  blow  he  will  not  inflict.  He  has 
made  man  free  as  a  moral  agent ;  were  man  not 
free  he  could  not  be  responsible  for  his  moral  acts. 
Freedom  is  an  inalienable  attribute  of  manhood. 
That  attribute  God  respects  in  his  approaches  to 
men  and  in  his  appeals  to  their  intelligence  and 
conscience.  God  may  drive  the  brute  creation ; 
but  God  will  draw  the  creatures  made  in  his  own 
image.  There  is  a  divine  drawing  constantly  oper- 
ating upon  human  hearts.  God  appeals  to  men  in 
the  providences  of  life ;  in  the  still  small  voice  of 
his  Spirit;  and  in  the  threatenings,  commands,  and 
promises  of  his  divine  word.  Oh,  let  us  beware 
how  we  treat  God  in  his  gentle  appeals  to  our 
hearts !  It  is  one  of  the  profoundest  solemnities 
of  life  that  the  creature  may  in  a  sense  resist  the 


22  THE    ATTRACTIVE    CHRIST 

Creator;  that  man  may  defy  God;  that  man  m  his 
wicked  rebellion  may  hasten  his  own  destruction. 
Oh,  quench  not  the  Spirit  to-day !  Oh,  grieve  not 
the  gentle,  wooing,  beseeching  Spirit  of  God,  as 
he  would  now  draw  you  in  loving  obedience  to  the 
heart  of  Jesus  Christ! 

5.  This  is  a  comprehensive  drawing.  "  Will  draw 
all  men."  The  word  "men"  is  not  expressed,  but 
as  the  word  "all"  is  masculine  in  the  original,  it 
clearly  refers  to  persons.  We  are  not,  however, 
to  understand  these  words  as  teaching  universal 
salvation.  We  must  understand  that  the  gospel  is 
offered  to  all  men  without  distinction  of  race  or 
creed.  It  is  certain  that  Christ  here  includes  Gen- 
tile as  well  as  Jew.  The  coming  of  these  Greeks  to 
him  suggested  the  enlargement  of  the  offer  of  sal- 
vation which  would  be  made  after  his  glorification. 
All  men  of  every  class  were  to  have  the  opportu- 
nity of  becoming  the  subjects  of  his  glorious  sal- 
vation ;  all  men  without  distinction  were  to  receive 
the  invitations  which  his  messengers  were  to  ex- 
tend. His  death  would  make  an  atonement  suf- 
ficient for  the  sins  of  men  of  every  race  and  every 
degree  of  guilt.  That  atonement  opened  the  way 
for  a  universal  offer  of  redemption  through  the 
death,  resurrection,  and  glorification  of  the  Son  of 
God.  The  Scriptures  everywhere  teach  the  en- 
largement of  the  sphere  of  redeeming  grace  in  the 
times  of  the  Messiah.  Jesus  was  to  be  exalted  as 
an  ensign  of  the  people  and  to  him  the  Gentiles 
would  come.     Some  would  limit  the  language  here 


THE    ATTRACTIVE    CHRIST  23 

to  those  whom  they  call  the  elect ;  others  would 
go  to  the  opposite  extreme  and  find  here  the  doc- 
trine of  universal  salvation.  But  the  words  em- 
ployed do  not  necessarily  mean  effectual  calling. 
They  do  not  teach  that  this  drawing  is  irresistible. 
No  affirmation  is  here  made  as  to  the  extent  to 
which  the  overtures  of  the  gospel  will  be  accepted. 
While  we  know  that  the  provisions  of  the  gospel 
are  sufficient  for  all  sinners,  we  know  also  that 
they  are  efficient  only  for  those  who  believe  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  not  here  affirmed  that 
all  will  actually  embrace  the  offers  of  salvation  and 
receive  Christ  as  their  Redeemer  and  Lord.  In 
fact,  we  know  from  Scripture  and  we  know  from 
observation,  that  all  men  who  hear  the  gospel  do 
not  receive  it  to  the  salvation  of  their  souls. 

The  fulfillment  of  this  promise  is  still  going  for- 
ward ;  it  is  worldwide,  and  it  is  constantly  finding 
its  realization.  To-day  Japan  stands  on  tiptoe  with 
the  light  of  the  gospel  falling  on  her  upturned 
face ;  to-day  China  is  arousing  herself  from  the 
conservatism  of  centuries  and  receiving  or  oppos- 
ing the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  ;  to-day  India  with 
its  teeming  populations  is  shaking  off  the  bond- 
age of  her  heathenism,  and  like  the  Greeks  who 
came  to  Philip,  is  saying  to  the  missionary  of  the 
cross,  "  Sir,  we  would  see  Jesus."  To-day  Africa 
is  reaching  out  her  hands  and  crying  unto  God  for 
deliverance  from  the  superstitions  of  centuries,  and 
is  longing  for  the  light  and  liberty  which  come 
alone  from  Jesus  Christ.     The  day  is  coming  when 


24  THE    ATTRACTIVE    CHRIST 

the  final  goal  will  be  reached,  and  from  sea  to  sea, 
from  the  rivers  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  from  pole 
to  pole,  there  will  be  one  flock  under  one  shepherd, 
and  Christ  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and 
shall  be  satisfied. 

6.  Tliis  is,  in  the  last  place,  an  evangelical  draiv- 
ing.  "Will  draw  all  men  unto  me."  Some  have 
supposed  that  all  things  as  well  as  men  are  to  be 
included  here.  There  is  a  truth,  doubtless,  in  the 
suggestion  that  all  agencies,  all  resources,  all  forms 
of  wealth,  all  kinds  of  political  power,  all  inven- 
tions, all  discoveries,  all  railroads,  telegraphs,  and 
telephones,  are  in  a  sense  to  be  drawn  to  Jesus 
Christ.  They  are  to  be  used  in  his  service ;  they 
are  to  contribute  to  the  salvation  of  men  and  to 
the  greater  exaltation  of  Christ.  But  the  special 
reference  is,  of  course,  to  men,  and  they  are  to  be 
drawn  to  himself.  The  word  "  me "  is  literally 
"myself."  The  crucified  Christ  is  the  gre^t  object 
of  faith,  the  supreme  attraction  for  lost  men.  He 
himself  draws  all  men  unto  himself — men  of  all 
classes  and  climes,  of  all  interests  and  characters. 
The  drawing  will  not  be  discontinued  until  men 
actually  come  to  the  living  Lord  as  their  personal 
Saviour.  It  is  not  enough  that  they  be  drawn  to 
the  adoption  of  formal  and  lifeless  creeds ;  not 
enough  that  they  come  into  the  fellowship  of  the 
visible  church  ;  not  enough  that  they  adopt  the 
external  moralities  of  Christian  faith.  The  draw- 
ing here  is  not  simply  to  baptism  and  to  church 
fellowship  and  to  the  Lord's  Supper.     If  men  are 


THE    ATTRACTIVE    CHRIST  2$ 

drawn  only  thither  they  have  not  reached  salva- 
tion ;  they  are  still  in  the  plain  where  destruction 
may  overtake  them.  They  must  flee  into  the 
mountain  ;  they  must  find  refuge  in  Jesus  Christ. 
It  is  not  enough  that  they  should  simply  believe 
in  the  atonement ;  they  must  believe  in  the  Atoner. 
Not  enough  that  they  should  in  a  technical  way 
believe  in  redemption  ;  they  must  believe  in  the 
Redeemer.  Not  enough  that  they  accept  verbally 
spiritual  deliverance  ;  they  must  accept  personally 
the  spiritual  Deliverer.  Oh,  that  all  in  this  audi- 
ence, and  all  men  throughout  the  world,  might  now 
look  on  the  uplifted  Christ,  be  drawn  to  his  heart, 
and  so  be  saved  with  an  everlasting  salvation ! 


THE  HEALING  LORD 


And  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  I  will  come  and  heal  him, — 
Matt.  8 :  7. 


II 

THE  Evangelist  Luke  places  this  interesting 
miracle  immediately  after  the   Sermon  on 
the   Plain.     There  is,  however,   no   contradiction 
between  the  order  which   he  gives  and  that  ob- 
served by  Matthew.     Matthew  here  gives  us  ex- 
amples of  our  Lord's  earlier  miracles  without  strict 
reo-ard  to  chronological  order.     His  language  does 
not  necessarily  connect  this  miracle  closely  with 
that  which  precedes.     The  prominence  of  the  cen- 
turion whose  ser\^ant  was  healed  probably  led  to 
the  selection  of    this  miracle  from  others  which 
mio-ht  have  been  recorded,  and  the  healing  with- 
out  touching  or  seeing  the  person  afflicted  may 
also  have   influenced  the   evangelist   in   selecting 
this  miracle  and  in  giving  it  its  position  in  the  in- 
spired   narrative.      Capernaum  had    now  become 
Christ's  principal  residence.     It  was  also  the  cen- 
ter of  his   operations  in  that  vicinity.     After  his 
preaching  tours  he  went  back  to  Capernaum  as  his 
home.     On  one  occasion  as  he  entered  the  town 
a  centurion  came  to  him  preferring  a  request  for 
his  boy  or  servant,  or  more  strictly,  his  slave.     A 
centurion  was  a  Roman  officer  commanding  one 
hundred    men.      This    particular    centurion    was 
probably  stationed  at  Capernaum  as  it  was  an  im- 
portant  provincial   town,  and   the   center  of   con- 

29 


30  THE    HEALING    LORD 

siderable  traffic  on  the  sea  of  Galilee.  He  was 
probably  in  the  service  of  Herod  Antipas  and  his 
presence  and  that  of  his  soldiers  might  be  required 
in  that  vicinity  to  preserve  order.  Let  us  study, 
for  a  little  time,  the  promise  which  was  here  given. 
//  is  worthy  of  notice  that  it  was  a  promise 
made  in  answer  to  prayer.  We  do  not  know  with 
certainty  whether  the  centurion  approached  him 
personally  or  through  the  instrumentality  of  others. 
The  centurion  knew  well  that  in  the  judgment  of 
the  Jews  all  heathen  were  without  the  covenant 
and  so  without  the  pale  of  mercy.  He  knew  well 
that  a  middle  wall  of  partition  separated  between 
the  children  of  Abraham  and  all  Gentiles.  Per- 
haps he  did  not  therefore  personally  approach 
Christ,  but  sent  others,  entreating  him  that  he 
would  come  and  heal  his  servant.  From  the  nar- 
rative in  Matthew  it  would  seem  that  he  had  come 
himself,  but  perhaps  we  are  to  take  the  expression 
with  a  somewhat  broader  meaning  as  taught  in  the 
parallel  passage  in  Luke.  There  it  would  seem 
that  the  elders  of  the  Jews  were  employed  on  this 
errand  ;  it  would  also  seem  that  they  were  very 
willing  messengers.  They  pleaded  for  him  as  one 
who  deserved  a  favor  at  their  hands,  and  they  add, 
"  for  he  loveth  our  nation,  and  he  hath  built  us  a 
synagogue."  Perhaps,  indeed,  both  he  and  the 
elders  came  at  different  times.  The  truth  to  be 
emphasized  at  this  point  is  that  the  promise  was 
made  in  answer  to  prayer.  Had  the  centurion  not 
prayed,  the  Saviour  had  not  promised.     That  we 


THE    HEALING    LORD  3 1 

may  receive  blessings  from  God  our  minds  must 
be  prepared  for  their  reception.  Our  hearts  must 
be  on  the  same  key  as  God's  heart.  Two  pianos 
or  harps  in  a  room  will  give  appropriate  response 
when  a  chord  on  either  is  struck.  There  is  some 
subtle  affinity  between  the  lightning  and  its  con- 
ductor. There  is  evermore  a  relation,  doubtless 
along  the  lines  of  strict  natural  law,  if  only  we 
were  able  to  understand  the  law,  between  the 
prayers  we  offer,  the  promises  God  makes,  and  the 
blessings  we  receive.  Prayer  is  the  nerve  which 
moves  the  muscles  of  omnipotence  ;  prayer  is  the 
muscle  which  moves  the  arm  of  the  Almighty. 
All  earthly  blessings  are  in  some  way  related  to 
earnest  prayers.  It  has  been  well  said  that  it  was 
in  Luther's  closet  that  the  Reformation  was  born. 
Constantine  was  right  when  he  refused  to  have 
his  statue  taken  standing  and  insisted  that  it  be 
taken  kneeling,  as  it  was  by  kneeling  in  prayer 
to  God  that  he  had  risen  to  eminence  among 
men.  We  know  that  before  the  delivery  of  Presi- 
dent Edwards'  great  sermon  on  "  Sinners  in  the 
Hands  of  an  Angry  God,"  which  so  mightily 
moved  his  congregation,  certain  earnest  Christians 
had  spent  the  preceding  night  in  prayer.  It  is 
also  affirmed  that  a  company  of  believers  spent  the 
night  in  prayer  before  the  delivery  of  John  Living- 
ston's sermon,  which  resulted  in  the  conversion  of 
hundreds  of  souls  and  started  a  revival  movement 
which  swept  with  irresistible  power  over  parts  of 
Scotland  and  Ireland.     The  Scriptures  abound  in 


32  THE    HEALING    LORD 

illustrations  of  immediate  and  direct  answers  to 
prayers.  Noble  as  were  the  achievements  of  mod- 
ern science  when  the  American  continent  was 
girdled  by  telegraphs,  and  still  nobler  when  the 
old  world  and  the  new  were  so  united,  a  still  more 
remarkable  spiritual  telegraph  exists.  Abraham 
said  unto  God,  "  Oh,  that  Ishmael  might  live  before 
thee  !  "  and  the  immediate  answer  came,  "As  for 
Ishmael,  I  have  heard  thee."  In  critical  circum- 
stances David  asked  of  the  Lord,  "  Shall  I  go  and 
smite  these  Philistines  ?  "  And  the  answer  of  God 
immediately  came,  "  Go,  and  smite  the  Philistines." 
Similar  examples  might  be  greatly  multiplied  show- 
ing that  man  may  talk  to  God,  and  that  God  im- 
mediately replies  to  man  in  answer  to  his  prayer. 
Indeed,  the  lives  of  Moses,  Isaiah,  Hezekiah,  Elijah, 
Daniel,  and  thousands  in  the  history  of  the  Chris- 
tian church,  would  be  utterly  inexplicable  but 
for  the  blessed  truth  that  God  hears  and  answers 
prayer.  The  day  may  come  when  it  will  be  seen 
that  this  spiritual  telegraph  from  earth  to  heaven 
is  as  fully  in  harmony  with  great  laws  of  the  phys- 
ical and  spiritual  universe,  as  it  is  now  seen  that 
telegraphs  and  telephones  are  in  harmony  with 
the  laws  of  God,  which  we  usually  call  the  laws  of 
nature.  We  are  warranted  in  saying  that  if  Stephen 
had  not  prayed  Paul  had  not  been  converted.  Is 
there  not  a  similar  relation  between  the  prayers  of 
thousands  of  parents,  teachers,  and  other  Chris- 
tians, and  the  conversion  of  thousands  of  men  now 
in  our  pulpits  and  tens  of  thousands  in  the  pews. 


THE    HEALING    LORD  33 

Again,  it  is  to  be  noticed  that  this  promise  is 
made  in  ansivcr  to  the  prayer  of  a  Gentile.  This  fact 
is  quite  remarkable.  God  had  promised  to  answer 
prayer  when  offered  by  the  "  seed  of  Jacob,"  but  this 
man  did  not  belong  to  the  stock  of  Abraham.  He 
was  probably  one  of  the  Roman  garrison  of  Ca- 
pernaum. He  was  by  birth  a  heathen.  But  per- 
haps he  felt  the  utter  emptiness  and  worthlessness 
of  faith  in  the  many  gods  of  polytheism.  Many 
trained  in  heathenism  experienced  the  need  of  a 
fuller  faith  than  heathenism  could  give,  and  they 
had  attached  themselves  in  nearer  or  remoter  re- 
lations to  the  congregations  in  Israel.  They  found 
that  Judaism  gave  a  satisfaction  to  the  deepest 
wants  of  their  spiritual  nature  which  heathenism 
could  never  supply.  Some  of  these  had  become 
proselytes  of  different  names,  and  they  thus 
formed  a  connection  between  Gentile  and  Jew 
which  greatly  helped  in  the  spread  of  the  gospel, 
and  in  the  bringing  in  of  that  time  when  there  was 
neither  Jew  nor  Gentile,  but  a  blessed  oneness  in 
Christ  Jesus.  It  is  most  interesting  to  observe 
that  all  the  centurions  mentioned  in  the  New 
Testament,  so  far  as  we  have  any  knowledge  of 
their  history,  were  men  of  worthy  character.  We 
have  in  addition  to  the  one  brought  before  us  in 
connection  with  the  text,  the  centurion  who  was 
on  guard  at  the  time  of  the  crucifixion  of  Christ. 
This  man  saw  the  wonderful  portents  which  ac- 
companied the  death  of  the  Son  of  God.  He 
acknowledged  the  claims  of  Jesus,  saying,  "Truly 


34  THE    HEALING    LORD 

this  man  was  the  Son  of  God."  We  also  have  the 
case  of  Cornelius,  who  had  renounced  idolatry  and 
had  become  a  worshiper  of  Jehovah  before  he 
had  received  a  knowledge  of  the  gospel.  His 
case  marks  a  distinct  epoch  in  the  earlier  history 
of  the  church.  He  feared  God,  he  gave  alms, 
and  he  had  a  good  reputation  among  the  Jews. 
His  prayers  for  fuller  light  were  graciously 
answered,  until  at  length  he  was  honored  as  the 
first  Gentile  convert  received  into  the  church,  in 
such  a  way  as  to  prove  that  Christ's  religion  was 
intended  for  all  and  was  not  limited  by  the  rites 
of  Judaism.  We  also  have  the  case  of  Julius,  who 
was  the  keeper  of  the  Apostle  Paul  on  his  journey 
to  Rome.  This  centurion  was  a  model  of  courtesy 
and  kindness.  He  was  a  man  of  noble  elements 
of  character  even  before  he  became  a  Christian. 
His  conversion  added  Christian  graces  to  his 
original  and  rare  endowments.  Indeed  these  cen- 
turions seem  to  have  preserved  in  their  character 
and  conduct  some  of  the  virtues  of  the  earlier  and 
purer  Romans  "in  the  brave  days  of  old." 

That  Gentiles  should  find  light  and  life  in  Juda- 
ism was  quite  in  harmony  with  all  the  promises  of 
the  Old  Testament  regarding  the  Messiah.  It  was 
distinctly  said  in  connection  with  our  Lord's  pre- 
sentation in  the  temple  that  he  should  be  "a  light 
to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and  the  glory  of  thy 
people  Israel."  This  statement  is  in  harmony 
with  the  prophecy  that  "in  his  name  shall  the 
Gentiles  trust."     It  was  in  harmony  with  his  own 


THE    HEALING    LORD  35 

words,  "Him  that  cometh  imto  me  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out."  It  is  in-  harmony  also  with  the 
teachings  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  when  he  said,  "  For 
there  is  no  difference  between  the  Jew  and  the 
Greek ;  for  the  same  Lord  over  all  is  rich  unto  all 
that  call  upon  him."  Christianity  was  needed  by, 
intended  for,  and  adapted  to,  all  nations  of  all 
climes  and  in  all  centuries.  It  is  the  only  religion 
ever  promulgated  among  men  that  was  intended 
for  all  nations,  irrespective  of  color  or  condition. 
In  this  respect  Christianity  is  unique  among  the 
religions  of  the  earth.  Jesus  Christ  was  the  only 
founder  of  a  faith  that  was  intended  to  become 
universal.  Such  a  conception  marks  him  as  the 
foremost  thinker  of  the  world.  Such  a  conception 
as  this  never  dawned  upon  the  minds  of  the  sages 
of  Greece  or  Rome,  and  never  suggested  itself 
to  the  dreamiest  imagination  of  the  dreamiest 
Oriental  philosopher. 

We  see  also  that  this  is  a  promise  made  to  a 
Gentile  for  a  slave.  The  word  translated  "  serv- 
ant," in  the  ninth  verse,  means  a  bondman  or  a 
slave,  although  it  is  also  used  to  express  a  service 
that  is  voluntary.  We  know  that  in  the  days  of 
Christ  slavery  was  almost  universal  among  heathen 
nations.  Such  a  request  on  the  part  of  the  cen- 
turion was  an  evidence  of  great  consideration  and 
condescension.  Slaves  then  had  no  rights  which 
freemen  were  bound  to  respect.  Even  Cicero 
deemed  it  needful  to  excuse  himself  for  feeling 
sorrowful  over  the  death  of  a  domestic  servant  in 


36  THE    HEALING    LORD 

his  household.  One  •  has  only  to  pronounce  the 
names  of  Domitius,  Octavius,  and  others  in  simi- 
lar positions,  to  be  reminded  of  their  unspeakable 
brutality  toward  slaves.  The  lives  of  these  slaves 
were  not  more  valuable  in  their  sight  than  the 
lives  of  insignificant  domestic  animals.  The  hu- 
mility and  condescension  of  the  centurion  are 
worthy  of  all  praise.  He  counted  himself  guilty 
of  presumption  to  have  asked  the  presence  of 
Christ  under  his  roof.  Not  only  did  he  feel  his 
unworthiness  as  a  heathen,  but  his  spiritual  un- 
worthiness  as  a  sinner,  in  asking  for  the  presence 
of  the  King  of  Israel  and  the  Lord  of  glory  in  his 
home.  He  asked,  therefore,  simply  that  Christ 
should  speak  the  word,  and  he  knew  that  his  serv- 
ant would  be  healed.  All  the  indications  of  this 
man's  character,  as  brought  out  in  the  narrative, 
commend  him  to  our  consideration.  He  was  one 
of  those  true  children  of  God  outside  the  fellow- 
ship of  a  recognized  faith.  The  manner  in  which 
he  spoke  of  himself  as  "a  man  under  authority," 
showed  his  conception  of  Christ's  position  and 
power.  If  it  were  true  that  he,  occupying  so 
much  lower  a  place  than  Christ,  had  those  who 
obeyed  him,  how  much  more  certain  was  it  that 
Christ's  word  would  be  powerful  over  men,  dis- 
eases, and  devils.  He  recognized  the  fact  that 
Christ  was  Prince  over  angels  and  spirits.  He 
therefore  could,  without  going  to  the  centurion's 
house,  give  his  command,  and  it  would  be  speedily 
executed  by  the  messengers  of  his  will. 


THE    HEALING    LORD  37 

The  centurion  here  evidences  a  conception  of 
Christ's  relation  to  the  kingdom  of  earth  and  heaven, 
as  beautiful  as  it  is  original,  and  as  truthful  as  it  is 
spiritual.  This  servant  was  a  paralytic.  He  suf- 
fered from  an  abnormal  relaxation  of  the  nerves, 
and  from  the  loss  of  sensation  and  the  power  of 
voluntary  motion.  It  seemed  as  if  he  was  on  the 
very  border  of  death.  It  is  not  wonderful  that 
Christ  marveled  at  the  centurion's  beautiful  union 
of  childlike  faith  and  profound  humility ;  it  is  not 
wonderful  that  Christ  said,  "Verily  I  say  unto  you, 
I  have  not  found  so  great  faith,  no,  not  in  Israel." 
Christ  did  not  reject  those  who  came  to  him  on 
their  own  account;  neither  did  he  reject  those  who 
came  on  behalf  of  others.  It  is  a  wonderful  bless- 
ing which  comes  to  our  own  souls  when  we  are 
anxious  for  the  conversion  of  the  souls  of  our  fel- 
low-men. We  are  told  that,  "  the  Lord  turned  the 
captivity  of  Job,  when  he  prayed  for  his  friends." 
Would  to  God  that  we  all  experienced  deep  anxiety 
for  the  conversion  of  those  about  us  !  Men  on 
every  hand  are  suffering  from  spiritual  paralysis, 
and  only  Christ  can  heal  them.  Let  us  go  on 
their  behalf  to  Christ  with  full  purpose  of  heart  as 
did  the  elders  or  the  centurion  on  behalf  of  the 
domestic  servant.  Let  us  carry  them,  as  did  those 
who  let  down  the  sick  man  through  the  roof  at  the 
feet  of  Christ,  to  the  great  Physician.  There  is  no 
selfishness  in  true  religion.  The  more  we  give 
away,  the  more  we  keep  ;  the  less  we  bestow,  the 
less  we  possess.     When  our  hearts  are  warm  with 


38  THE    HEALING    LORD 

the  love  of  Christ,  we  cannot  rest  satisfied  until 
we  bring  all  about  us  to  the  heart  of  Christ,  that 
they  also  may  be  saved  with  an  everlasting  salva- 
tion. 

It  is  further  to  be  remarked  that  this  is  a  promise 
of  more  than  was  asked ;  for  in  the  prayer  that  was 
offered,  the  centurion  left  all  with  Christ,  and 
Christ  answered,  "  I  will  come  and  heal  him." 
The  mothers  brought  their  little  children  to  Jesus 
that  he  might  touch  them ;  Jesus  took  them  up, 
folded  them  in  his  arms,  and  blessed  them.  Christ 
always  gives  us  more  than  we  deserve,  and  usually 
more  than  we  ask.  We  receive  not  more  because 
we  ask  so  little.  We  are  not  to  dictate  to  God, 
but  we  are  to  ask  God  to  bestow  blessings  in  har- 
mony with  his  own  righteous  will.  The  centurion 
simply  informed  Christ  that  his  servant  lay  at 
home  sick  of  the  palsy ;  then  Jesus  made  his 
gracious  promise.  But  Jesus  did  even  more  than 
he  promised.  We  also  are  diseased.  The  case  of 
men  everywhere  is  desperate  because  of  the  disease 
of  sin.  For  them  the  world  has  not  sure  promise 
of  relief ;  for  them  philosophy  gives  no  panacea. 
For  the  ills  of  life  and  the  diseases  of  sin  human 
wisdom  has  no  remedy.  Whither  shall  men  go  for 
relief  }  Thank  God,  there  is  a  balm  in  Gilead,  and 
there  is  a  physician  there.  Thank  God,  Christ  is 
able  to  save  unto  the  uttermost  all  who  come  unto 
God  by  him.  Thank  God,  that  "  the  Son  of  Man 
is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost." 

Gracious  was  the  action  of  Christ  in  connection 


THE    HEALING    LORD  39 

with  the  healing  of  this  servant.  He  said  to  the 
centurion,  or  his  messengers,  "Go  thy  way,  and  as 
thou  hast  believed,  so  be  it  done  unto  thee."  And 
we  are  permitted  to  read,  "And  his  servant  was 
healed  in  the  selfsame  hour."  Not  only  was  the 
force  of  the  disease  broken,  but  the  disease  itself 
was  entirely  removed.  Wonderful  is  the  conde- 
scension of  Jesus  Christ !  He  loves  to  bestow  the 
treasures  of  his  grace  upon  needy  souls.  He  waits 
here  to-day  to  answer  those  who  ask  for  the  for- 
giveness of  sin  and  for  the  healing  of  their  souls. 

This  leads  us  to  observe,  in  the  last  place,  that 
this  is  a  promise  which  was  immediately  fulfilled. 
We  have  already  seen  that  in  the  selfsame  hour 
the  servant  was  healed.  Moses  prayed,  "  I  beseech 
Thee,  show  me  thy  glory,"  and  immediately  the 
answer  came,  "  I  will  make  all  my  goodness  pass 
before  thee."  Wonderful  is  it  that  God  often  an- 
swers so  promptly  and  so  fully.  He  fulfills  his 
own  promise,  "  While  they  are  yet  speaking  I  will 
answer."  We  have  in  the  account  of  the  healing 
of  the  centurion's  servant  the  first  instance  of  faith 
in  Christ's  power  to  heal  at  a  distance,  and  we 
have  also  seen  that  this  great  faith  was  not  exer- 
cised by  some  favored  Israelite,  but  by  an  outcast 
Gentile.  I  have  read  that  a  British  soldier  in  India 
was  lying  near  to  death.  He  had  long  neglected, 
and  often  had  reviled,  religion  ;  but  now  that  he 
was  dying,  he  wished  that  some  one  might  tell 
him  how  he  might  be  saved.  Soon  he  thought  of 
a   Christian   friend    living   at    a   distance    of    one 


40  THE    HEALING    LORD 

hundred  and  sixty  miles,  and  to  him  he  sent  this 
telegraphic  message  :  "  I  am  dying ;  what  shall  I 
do  to  be  saved?"  Instantly  the  reply  came  back 
to  him,  "  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
thou  shalt  be  saved,"  He  laid  hold  of  the  truth 
thus  communicated  by  telegraph.  The  words  were 
received  in  an  honest  and  trustful  heart,  and  soon 
he  died  with  the  hope  of  salvation  in  his  soul. 
Thank  God,  that  as  Christ  was  able  to  heal  at  a 
distance,  he  is  able  from  his  throne  in  heaven  at 
this  moment  to  send  saving  grace  to  every  sin-sick 
soul.  To-day  parents,  teachers,  and  pastor  are 
praying  for  some  of  you.  Will  you  trample  over 
a  kneeling  mother  and  a  praying  father,  as  you 
press  along  the  downward  road  to  everlasting  per- 
dition .-•  Stop  !  I  beseech  you,  stop  now,  and  re- 
ceive the  salvation  which  Jesus  offers.  I  would  be 
to-day  the  centurion  going  to  Jesus  on  your  behalf. 
I  now  communicate  to  you  his  willingness  to  say, 
"  I  will  come  and  heal  him."  Are  you  willing  to 
be  healed  ?  Do  not  tell  me  that  you  need  no 
healing.  Do  not  claim  that  you  are  only  slightly 
diseased.  The  leprosy  of  sin  is  deadly.  There  is 
only  one  Physician  who  can  cure  the  sin-sick  soul ; 
there  is  only  one  balm  that  can  heal  this  terrible 
wound.  Here  and  now  I  lift  before  you  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  Saviour  of  the  lost.  Hear  me,  rather 
hear  God  who  speaks  in  his  word  and  through  my 
lips,  saying,  "  Look  unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all 
the  ends  of  the  earth  ;  for  I  am  God,  and  there  is 
none  else." 


THE  DIVINE  TRUSTEE 


For  I  know  whom  I  have  believed,  and  am  persuaded 
that  he  is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  coimnitted  unto 
him  against  that  day. — 2  Tim.  i :  12, 


Ill 

GOD  is  the  absolutely  faithful  trustee.  Stew- 
ards must  be  faithful  or  they  are  unworthy 
of  their  name.  God  must  be  just  or  he  would 
cease  to  be  God.  Perhaps  good  and  God  are  not 
etymologically  one;  but  goodness  and  godliness 
are  practically  one  and  the  same  thing.  Godhood 
and  falsehood  are  incompatible  ideas  ;  an  unjust 
God  we  cannot  for  a  moment  consider  possible. 
One  unjust  act  on  the  part  of  God  would  leave  the 
throne  of  the  world  vacant,  and  the  whole  world 
godless.  God  is  the  able,  stable,  reliable  trustee 
of  all  the  interests  of  immortal  beings  for  time  and 
for  eternity. 

These  great  truths  the  Apostle  Paul  fully  ap- 
preciated when  he  wrote  the  words  chosen  as  the 
text.  These  words  were  written  in  prison  in 
Rome.  This  fact  seems  apparent  everywhere 
throughout  the  Epistle,  although  there  is  some 
doubt  as  to  whether  it  was  written  during  the 
apostle's  first  or  second  imprisonment.  It  is, 
however,  almost  the  unanimous  opinion  of  scholars 
that  it  was  written  at  Rome,  and  while  the  apostle 
was  there  imprisoned.  The  words  belong  to  what 
is  probably  the  last  Epistle  which  the  great  apostle 
ever  wrote.  He  was  then  nearing  the  end  of  his 
journey,  awaiting  his  almost  certain  martyrdom. 

43 


44  THE    DIVINE   TRUSTEE 

The  Epistle  is,  therefore,  invested  with  the 
deepest  and  tenderest  interest.  It  contains  the 
dying  counsels  of  the  most  eminent  apostle  to  a 
young  man  whom  he  greatly  loved  and  who  was 
then  just  entering  upon  his  ministerial  life.  This 
young  man,  Timothy,  was  the  apostle's  son  in  the 
gospel.  Over  the  early  years  of  his  Christian  life 
the  apostle  watched  with  paternal  solicitude,  and 
now  that  he  has  entered  upon  his  public  career, 
the  apostle  still  counsels  him  with  fatherly  wisdom 
and  motherly  affection.  We  have  here  the  glori- 
ous words  of  triumphant  assurance  which  the 
matchless  Paul  speaks  to  his  beloved  disciple.  If 
ever  Paul's  heart  voiced  itself  in  deep  emotion,  it  is 
in  this  Epistle ;  if  ever  he  spoke  as  a  dying  man 
to  dying  men,  it  is  throughout  these  chapters. 
Timothy's  presence  the  apostle  greatly  desired, 
especially  because  nearly  all  others  in  whom  he 
might  have  reposed  confidence  had  deserted  him 
in  his  hour  of  need.  Only  Luke  was  with  him, 
and  he  desired  that  Timothy  also  might  be  near  in 
his  time  of  trial,  as  well  as  to  aid  in  the  work  of 
the  ministry.  The  apostle's  last  words  to  Timothy 
are  spoken  assuredly  as  the  result  of  profound  con- 
viction. Here  we  sit  at  this  great  man's  feet  and 
hear  his  parting  counsels.  Soon  he  may  have  to 
stand  before  Nero  ;  soon  he  may  receive  the  sen- 
tence of  condemnation  ;  soon  the  headsman's  sword 
may  sever  his  head  from  his  body ;  and  soon  he 
may  stand  in  the  presence  of  the  Judge  of  the 
quick  and  the  dead.      All  these  facts  the  apostle 


THE    DIVINE    TRUSTEE  45 

well  knew ;  but  nowhere  in  this  letter  is  there  a 
tone  of  defeat.  The  letter  is  a  bugle  note  ;  it  is  a 
shout  of  triumph  ;  it  is  a  paean  of  victory.  How 
glorious  is  the  Christian  faith  when  it  supports  the 
apostle  in  scenes  like  these  !  This  Epistle  should 
be  read  with  the  deepest  interest.  We  are  always 
supposed  to  attach  much  significance  to  the  words 
of  a  dying  man  ;  then,  if  ever,  we  feel  that  the 
man  will  speak  the  absolute  truth  regarding  the 
things  that  lie  nearest  his  deepest  heart.  To  all 
Christians,  and  especially  Christian  ministers,  this 
Epistle  is  invaluable.  It  tenderly  touches  our 
hearts ;  it  inspires  our  hopes ;  it  brightens  our 
prospects.  The  text  epitomizes  much  of  the  Epis- 
tle; it  has  been  a  benediction  to  thousands  of 
souls.  It  assures  the  doubting,  confirms  the  wa- 
vering, and  inspires  the  hopeless. 

In  studying  the  text,  we  notice,  in  the  first 
place,  the  apostle's  committal — "  that  which  I  have 
committed  unto  him  against  that  day."  This  com- 
mittal possesses  some  striking  characteristics.  It 
is  a  personal  committal.  It  is  interesting  to  notice 
the  pronouns,  /,  zuhom,  he,  and  him,  as  they  appear 
in  this  text.  The  apostle  came  into  personal  rela- 
tions with  the  Lord  Jesus  ;  he  knew  that  no  one 
but  himself  could  make  this  committal  for  himself. 
Religion  is  a  personal  matter  between  the  individual 
soul  and  God.  No  man  can  believe  by  proxy  ;  no 
man  can  obey  by  proxy.  In  the  strict  sense  of  the 
word  no  man  can  be  sponsor  for  his  fellow-man. 
Personality  is  eternal ;  a  wall  as  high  as  heaven 


46  THE    DIVINE    TRUSTEE 

and  as  deep  as  hell,  divides  every  man  in  his  deepest 
religious  relations  from  every  other  man.  No  rite, 
no  tradition,  no  ordinance  ought  to  be  allowed  to 
come  between  the  soul  and  God.  It  is  said  that 
when  the  learned  Dr.  Alexander  was  dying,  a 
Christian  friend  undertook  to  quote,  at  his  bed- 
side, the  verse  now  used  as  the  text,  but  in  repeat- 
ing it,  said,  "  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed." 
The  dying  man  roused  himself  and  interrupted  his 
friend,  saying,  "  Let  not  even  a  preposition  come 
between  me  and  my  blessed  Saviour."  Too  often 
we  have  let  whole  creeds,  ancient  traditions,  un- 
scriptural  rites  and  groundless  superstitions  come 
between  us  and  our  divine  Redeemer.  There  is 
much  of  heathen  superstition  in  many  Christian 
creeds.  It  is  most  unfortunate  for  the  church  of 
Christ  that  so  many  things  have  come  between  the 
seeking  soul  and  the  seeking  Saviour.  It  is  to  be 
feared,  that  often  at  the  bedside  of  the  dying  the 
ordinance  of  the  Lord's  Supper  has  been  thrust 
between  the  soul  asking  for  Christ  and  Christ  who 
waits  to  deliver  the  penitent  and  trusting  sinner. 
The  apostle's  committal  was  in  the  deepest  and 
broadest  and  fullest  sense  a  personal  committal. 

It  was  also  a  universal  committal.  He  com- 
mitted to  Christ  all  his  bodily  interests.  He  knew 
not  what  might  shortly  befall  his  body.  Bonds 
and  afflictions  might  await  him  ;  death  could  not, 
at  longest,  be  far  distant.  He  knew  that  already 
his  body  had  suffered  much  on  behalf  of  his  Lord. 
He   in   writing  to  the   Galatians   reminded   them 


THE    DIVINE    TRUSTEE  47 

that  he  bore  in  his  body  the  marks  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  ;  he  referred  to  this  fact  with  a  tenderness 
and  delicacy  which  deeply  touch  our  hearts  as  we 
read  his  words.  He  well  knew  that  all  forms  of 
suffering  had  been  endured,  and  he  might  well 
expect  still  greater  sufferings,  if  that  were  possible, 
in  the  near  future.  But  here  and  now  he  commits 
all  the  interests  of  his  physical  being  for  sickness 
or  health,  for  joy  or  sorrow,  for  life  or  death,  into 
the  keeping  of  his  glorious  Lord. 

He  committed  also  all  the  concerns  of  his  pro- 
fessional life  to  the  Lord  Jesus.  There  were, 
doubtless,  those  who  believed  that  the  Apostle 
Paul  had  made  a  great  mistake  when  he  became 
the  disciple  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  The  apostle 
might  well  have  cherished  high  professional  ambi- 
tions ;  he  doubtless  would  have  taken  high  rank  as 
a  learned  rabbi.  He  might  have  stood  at  the  head 
of  some  famous  school  of  rabbinical  learning ;  he 
might  have  been  known  throughout  the  learned 
world  of  his  day  as  a  leader  of  philosophic 
thought.  With  his  great  powers  of  mind,  with 
his  vast  and  varied  erudition,  he  might  have  taken 
rank  with  the  orators,  scholars,  and  statesmen  of 
his  day.  But  all  these  possibilities,  eminently  be- 
coming and  desirable  in  themselves,  he  counted 
but  dross  for  the  excellence  of  the  knowledge  and 
service  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  was  willing  to  be 
nothing  that  Christ  might  be  everything ;  he  was 
willing  to  lose  his  life  for  Christ's  sake;  and 
thereby  he   found   his  truer,  nobler,  and  diviner 


48  THE    DIVINE   TRUSTEE 

life.  But  for  his  consecration  to  Christ  compara- 
tively few  in  the  world  to-day  would  have  ever 
heard  his  name.  His  indifference  to  earthly  re- 
nown has  secured  for  him  a  renown  otherwise 
utterly  impossible.  His  whole-hearted  service  for 
God,  irrespective  of  reputation  or  fame,  has 
crowned  him  with  glory  which  time  shall  not  dim, 
and  fame  which  will  increase  with  the  passing 
generations.  The  same  law  holds  true  to-day. 
The  willingness  of  Carey  to  spend  and  be  spent 
among  the  heathen  in  India,  has  made  his  name 
synonymous  with  the  missionary  enterprise  round 
the  globe.  In  his  consuming  zeal  for  the  lost 
souls  of  the  heathen,  Judson  was  willing  to  sacri- 
fice home,  country,  fame,  and  life;  and  in  the 
heroism  of  that  sacrifice  he  has  written  his  name 
among  the  immortals.  But  for  his  heroic  sacrifice 
he  might  have  been  merely  a  successful  pastor  in 
a  quiet  American  parish,  instead  of  being  one  of 
the  brightest  stars  in  the  missionary  firmament. 
God  help  us  all  to  learn  this  lesson,  and  to  lay 
ourselves  in  joyous  and  complete  consecration 
upon  the  altar  of  Jesus  Christ. 

It  was  also  an  eternal  committal.  It  reached 
past  time  and  entered  eternity.  The  apostle  com- 
mitted his  soul  for  time  and  eternity  to  the  keep- 
ing of  his  Lord;  "against  that  day"  was  the  limit 
of  the  committal,  as  he  here  describes  it.  In  so 
speaking  the  apostle  had  in  mind  the  great  day  of 
judgment.  When  language  like  that  of  the  text 
is  employed,    the    judgment    day,    "the    day   for 


THE    DIVINE    TRUSTEE  49 

which  all  other  days  were  made,"  is  always  in  the 
writer's  mind.  The  early  Christians  seem  so  often 
to  have  thought  and  spoken  of  the  judgment  day 
that  it  came  to  be  readily  understood  when  they 
referred  to  it  simply  as  "that  day."  The  apostle 
looked  forward  to  seeing  his  Lord  and  Saviour 
seated  on  his  great  white  throne.  He  had  seen 
him  amid  the  blinding  light  of  the  Damascus 
highway;  he  is  at  the  last  to  see  him  above  all 
principalities  and  powers,  in  all  the  splendor  and 
glory  of  divine  triumph.  But  the  apostle  looked 
to  that  time  without  fear  or  alarm.  In  the  Judge 
he  will  find  his  best  friend ;  in  the  King  his  loved 
Saviour.  The  apostle  knew  that  Christ  was  both 
able  and  willing  to  keep  him  from  the  power  of 
sin,  and  to  preserve  him  in  holiness  of  heart  and 
life  until  that  great  day.  He  knew  that  Christ 
would  go  with  him  through  all  the  trials  of  life, 
would  sweeten  its  bitter  waters,  would  cool  the 
fierceness  of  its  flames,  would  go  with  him  into  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  and  would  at  last 
welcome  him  among  the  redeemed.  He  had  no 
fear  in  going  into  the  solemnities  of  the  unknown 
world  and  across  the  trackless  sea,  so  long  as  he 
had  Jesus  Christ  as  guide  and  pilot. 

We  observe,  in  the  second  place,  the  apostle's 
persuasion,  as  set  forth  in  this  text.  He  was  per- 
suaded that  Christ  was  able  to  keep  body,  soul, 
and  spirit  for  time  and  for  eternity.  His  persua- 
sion was  absolutely  certain.  No  doubt  intruded 
itself  into   his   creed;  no  fear  marred  the  joy  of 


50  THE    DIVINE    TRUSTEE 

his  Christian  service.  He  believed  that  his  life 
was  immortal  until  his  work  was  accomplished. 
He  was  fully  convinced  that  his  soul  was  entirely 
safe  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  the  fear  of  death, 
and  the  terror  of  the  judgment.  No  man  can 
have  any  higher  interest  in  life,  or  more  solemn 
duty  in  preparing  for  eternity,  than  to  commit  his 
soul  with  all  its  interests  to  the  keeping  of  the 
Son  of  God.  Religion  largely  consists  in  the 
making  of  such  a  committal,  and  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  certain  persuasion  which  results  from 
so  trusting  Jesus  Christ.  What  shall  we  do  with 
this  great,  this  invaluable  treasure }  We  take  our 
valuables  now  to  the  safe  deposit  company ;  we  are 
persuaded  that  that  company  is  able  to  keep  in 
safety  what  we  commit  to  its  trusted  officers.  The 
committal  is  actually  made,  and  our  comfort  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  strength  and  character  of  the 
company  is  complete.  We  are  asked  indirectly, 
by  the  example  of  the  apostle,  to  make  such  a 
committal  of  the  soul  to  the  Lord  Jesus  now. 
Out  of  the  knowledge  of  that  committal  will  come 
the  certain  and  joyous  persuasion  which  the  apos- 
tle here  experienced. 

It  was  also  a  joyous  persuasion.  No  man  can 
know  true  joy  until  he  cherishes  a  genuine  Chris- 
tian faith.  Those  who  have  never  known  this  joy 
have  never  known  the  greatest  blessedness  which 
human  life  can  experience.  If  the  soul  be  safe 
we  need  not  be  disturbed  by  the  insecurity  of  any 
earthly  treasure.      All  earthly  interests,  however 


THE    DIVINE    TRUSTEE  $1 

important  in  themselves,  are  but  secondary  com- 
pared with  the  interests  of  the  soul  and  of  eter- 
nity. These  interests  far  outnumber  and  outweigh 
all  temporal  concerns,  earthly  joys,  and  sublunary 
achievements.  The  man  who  has  not  made  this 
surrender  to  the  Lord  Jesus  is  an  enemy  to  all  his 
own  higher  interests  both  here  and  hereafter.  Bet- 
ter live  in  a  prison  than  in  a  palace  on  earth  cherish- 
ing the  hope  of  a  joyous  eternity,  than  to  live  amid 
the  greatest  luxuries,  living  without  God  and  dying 
without  hope.  The  apostle's  conviction  gave  him 
peace  amid  all  the  trials  of  life,  security  in  the 
presence  of  his  bitterest  foes,  and  triumph  in  the 
prospect  of  an  ignominious  death. 

His  persuasion  was  experimental.  It  was  founded 
upon  a  broad  and  varied  experience.  The  apostle 
was  a  poet,  a  philosopher,  a  prophet,  a  preacher, 
a  Christian.  He  was  as  truly  the  apostle  of 
logic  as  he  was  the  apostle  of  love.  The  noblest 
poets  are  the  ablest  prophets.  Tennyson  was  a 
true  interpreter  of  the  highest  thoughts  of  our 
time.  The  Apostle  Paul  was  not  surpassed  in 
tenderness  of  feeling,  clearness  of  thinking,  vigor 
of  action,  and  breadth  of  thought,  by  any  man  of 
his  time  or  of  our  time.  His  words  in  this  text 
are  not  the  words  of  the  fanatic,  the  recluse,  or 
the  tyro  in  knowledge  of  men  and  of  affairs.  Few 
men  at  any  time  had  an  experience  more  varied 
than  was  his  ;  and  few  men  mingled  more  freely 
with  soldiers,  scholars,  thinkers,  and  actors  in 
every  phase  of  life,  than  did  the  matchless  Paul. 


52  THE    DIVINE   TRUSTEE 

His  conviction  is  based  on  a  wide  and  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  principles  and  motives  usually 
considered  valuable  and  dominant  among  men. 
We  are  listening  to  the  words  of  a  scholar,  philos- 
opher, and  devoted  disciple.  No  more  competent 
was  Solomon  to  speak  authoritatively  on  the  vani- 
ties of  life  than  was  the  kingly  Apostle  Paul  to 
speak  authoritatively  on  the  verities  of  faith  and 
hope.  We  listen  to  his  words  as  to  those  of  age, 
experience,  character,  and  deepest  conviction.  This 
is  the  testimony  which  he  gives  as  he  confronts 
death,  as  the  darkness  of  the  tomb  and  the  bright- 
ness of  the  throne  cast  their  blended  shadows  and 
lights  upon  his  upturned  face.  Glorious  apostle ! 
Authoritative  witness,  devout  disciple,  heroic  mar- 
tyr !  We  receive  thy  words  as  words  spoken 
almost  amid  the  solemnities  of  the  eternal  world. 

We  notice,  in  the  last  place,  the  apostle's  knoivl- 
edgc  of  the  truths  which  he  here  affirms — "  I  know 
whom  I  have  believed."  He  had  exercised  a  sweet 
and  unquestioning  faith  ;  he  had  reposed  a  firm 
and  unwavering  trust  in  Jesus  Christ  as  his  Sav- 
iour. Of  this  fact  he  possesses  absolute  knowl- 
edge. His  knowledge  rests  on  a  solid  foundation; 
it  rests  upon  the  faith  which  he  had  reposed  in 
Jesus  Christ.  He  knew  whom  he  believed.  His 
knowledge  was  personal,  both  as  related  to  himself 
as  the  subject  of  faith,  and  as  related  to  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  object  of  faith.  Faith  never  is  op- 
posed to  knowledge ;  faith  is  knowledge  of  the 
highest  kind.     We  climb  the  ladder  of  reason  to 


THE    DIVINE   TRUSTEE  53 

its  topmost  round,  and,  being  unable  to  go  far- 
ther, we  reach  out  our  hand  into  the  space  beyond ; 
but  there  is  no  one  to  grasp  the  outstretched  hand, 
and  there  is  no  foundation  for  the  uplifted  foot, 
until  faith  permits  us  to  place  our  hand  in  the 
hand  of  Jesus  and  our  foot  on  a  pavement  iirm  as 
adamant.  Faith  is  knowledge  raised  to  the  highest 
power ;  faith  is  knowledge  resting  on  a  blessed  ex- 
perience ;  "  faith  is  assurance  of  things  hoped  for, 
conviction  of  things  not  seen."  Reason  rightly 
understood  is  not  opposed  to  faith.  Reason  and 
faith  are  twin  sisters.  He  is  not  worthy  the  name 
of  rationalist  who  refuses  to  exercise  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ  as  a  personal  Saviour.  He  is  an  irration- 
alist  who  so  refuses.  Rationalism  has  been  de- 
graded by  being  placed  in  opposition  to  intelligent 
faith.  Rationalism  ought  never  to  be  opposed  to 
the  teaching  of  revelation  and  to  the  deepest  expe- 
riences of  the  spiritual  life.  He  is  a  true  rationalist 
who  sits  in  lowly  obedience  as  a  disciple  at  the  feet 
of  the  Lord's  Christ.  The  school  of  Christ  is  the 
noblest  university  the  world  has  ever  known.  He 
can  best  walk  the  dizzy  heights  of  intellectual 
greatness  who  has  just  risen  from  kneeling  at  the 
pierced  feet  of  the  Son  of  God. 

There  is  a  sweet  personality  in  the  apostle's 
knowledge.  It  may  be  permitted  to  call  attention 
again  to  his  use  of  the  pronouns  /  and  tvhoni  in 
this  connection.  He  believed  for  himself  and  not 
for  another ;  and  as  there  was  a  marked  person- 
ality in  the  subject,  so  there  was  in  the  object  of 


54  THE    DIVINE    TRUSTEE 

the  belief  described.  He  did  not  believe  simply 
in  a  doctrine,  but  in  a  person  ;  not  simply  in  a 
teaching,  but  in  a  teacher ;  not  simply  in  a  redemp- 
tion, but  in  a  redeemer ;  not  simply  in  a  deliver- 
ance, but  in  a  deliverer.  He  calls  attention  em- 
phatically to  the  fact  that  it  is  not  wJiat,  but  ivJioni 
he  believes.  There  is  here  an  important  distinc- 
tion, a  distinction  which  we  have  too  often  forgot- 
ten. The  creed  to  be  vital  must  lay  hold  of  a 
person  rather  than  simply  a  doctrine.  Spiritual 
faith  in  its  deepest  significance  is  a  mighty  grip 
upon  God.  One  may,  parrot-like,  recite  creeds  by 
the  yard ;  but  these  creeds  will  be  powerless  except 
they  lay  hold  with  a  firm  grasp  upon  the  living, 
loving,  and  unchanging  God.  One  object  in  all 
the  revelations  of  the  Bible  is  to  lead  us  up  to  a 
divine  person  ;  that  person  is  Jesus  Christ,  the 
divine  Lord  and  Redeemer.  Except  our  creeds 
lead  the  heart  to  God  in  the  person  of  his  Son 
Jesus  Christ,  these  creeds  must  be  powerless  and 
may  become  hurtful.  Beautifully,  as  already  sug- 
gested, does  the  apostle  call  our  attention  here  to 
the  whom  rather  than  the  ivhat  of  his  knowledge 
and  faith.  He  saw  Jesus  Christ  clearly  set  forth 
as  crucified  for  him  and  as  now  sitting  at  the  right 
hand  of  God  as  his  personal  Lord  and  Saviour. 

The  apostle's  knowledge  was  therefore  certain 
knowledge.  There  was  in  his  thought  no  doubt 
whatever  regarding  the  faith  he  exercised,  the 
committal  he  had  made,  and  all  the  blessed  hopes 
which  now  he  was  permitted  to  cherish.     Doubt 


THE    DIVINE    TRUSTEE  55 

cuts  the  nerve  of  power  in  the  Christian  life ; 
doubt  paralyzes  the  arm  of  service  in  our  Christian 
activity.  Doubt  is  the  infancy  of  Christian  expe- 
rience ;  faith  is  the  manhood  of  Christian  attain- 
ment. Doubt  is  the  gray  dawn  of  the  morning ; 
faith  is  the  splendor  of  the  noonday  sun.  Our 
faith  is  too  largely  expressing  itself  with  "  ifs,  per- 
hapses,  and  perad ventures."  The  spirit  of  subtle 
agnosticism  is  abroad  in  the  land.  Many  speak  as 
if  agnosticism  were  synonymous  with  intellectual 
acumen  ;  they  teach  that  implicit  faith  is  indica- 
tive of  shallow  thought.  Never  was  a  greater  mis- 
take made  than  this.  Agnosticism,  with  apparent 
modesty,  says,  "I  know  almost  nothing."  But  in 
so  saying  the  typical  agnostic  virtually  means,  "  I 
fully  know  everything."  There  is  a  blessed  gnos- 
ticism in  the  Bible  and  in  Christian  experience. 
The  sect  of  Gnostic  philosophers  that  rose  in  the 
first  ages  of  Christianity,  were  guilty  of  assuming 
that  they  only  had  the  true  knowledge  of  the 
Christian  faith.  The  sect  of  agnostic  philosophers 
that  has  arisen  in  these  later  days  pretends  to 
know  everything,  both  of  science  and  of  religion. 
Thank  God,  there  is  a  true  gnosticism,  a  gnosti- 
cism that  recognizes  its  own  limitations,  and  readily 
admits  the  propriety  of  agnosticism  regarding  many 
things,  but  which  holds  firmly,  unquestioningly,  and 
sublimely  to  its  faith  regarding  certain  other  things. 
We  thank  God  for  the  "  knows "  of  the  Bible. 
One's  heart  is  stirred  as  he  hears  ringing  down  the 
ages  the  voice  of  Job  saying,  "  For  I  know  that  my 


56  THE    DIVINE    TRUSTEE 

Redeemer  liveth,  and  that  he  shall  stand  at  the 
latter  day  upon  the  earth  "  ;  the  voice  of  the  blind 
man  who  was  healed  by  Christ,  saying,  "  One 
thing  I  know,  that  whereas  I  was  blind  now  I  see"  ; 
the  voice  of  the  beloved  John,  saying,  "  We  know 
that  we  have  passed  from  death  unto  life,  because 
we  love  the  brethren  "  ;  the  voice  of  the  Apostle 
Paul  in  the  text,  saying,  "  I  know  whom  I  have 
believed  "  ;  and  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God  himself, 
saying,  "  We  speak  that  we  do  know,  and  testify 
that  we  have  seen." 

Blessed  are  they  who  know  that  they  have  passed 
from  death  unto  life,  who  know  that  they  are 
heirs  of  God  and  joint-heirs  with  Jesus  Christ. 
To-day  Christ  offers  to  be  the  trustee  of  all  our 
most  sacred  interests  for  time  and  for  eternity. 
He  will  receive  our  poor,  sinful  hearts  and  broken 
lives  ;  and  he  will  transform  the  one  and  re-create 
the  other,  making  us  his  redeemed  children. 
Come  to-day  and  trust  Paul's  Saviour ;  never  has 
he  denied  acceptance  to  any  penitent  sinner.  To- 
day with  a  whole-hearted  confidence  you  may 
make  this  great  committal  to  Jesus  Christ ;  to-day 
you  may  exercise  this  blessed  persuasion  ;  to-day 
you  may  rejoice  in  the  glorious  knowledge  that 
you  have  committed  your  soul,  your  life,  your  all 
for  time  and  eternity  to  Jesus  Christ  ;  and  no 
power  on  earth  or  in  hell  can  pluck  out  of  his 
hand  that  which  you  "  have  committed  unto  him 
against  that  day." 


THE  SANCTIFYING  TRUTH 


Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth:  thy  word  is  truth. — 
John  ly :  //. 


IV 


IN  the  fifteenth  verse  of  this  chapter  our  Lord 
prayed  that  the  disciples  might  not  be  taken 
out  of  the  world,  but  kept  from  the  evil  that  is 
in  the  world.  That  petition  is  both  appropriate 
and  beautiful,  but  it  was  negative,  in  form  at 
least,  and  a  broader  petition  seems  necessary. 
As  our  Lord  did  not  leave  his  work  until  it  was 
finished,  so  he  would  not  have  his  disciples  leave 
the  world  until  they  also  had  finished  their  work. 
The  world  needs  Christians  to  illustrate  the  spirit 
of  Christ,  as  it  needed  Christ  to  perform  his  unique 
work  of  redemption. 

Our  Lord  now  passes,  in  the  text,  to  the  positive 
form  of  the  petition.  He  desired  much  more  than 
that  they  should  be  preserved  from  evil  simply ; 
they  were  to  be  wholly  consecrated  to  good.  He 
therefore  here  prays  positively  for  the  blessing 
which  in  the  former  petition  he  had  negatively  in- 
voked. There  is,  of  course,  perfect  harmony  be- 
tween these  two  forms  of  prayer.  To  preserve 
from  evil  is,  partly  at  least,  to  sanctify  to  good. 
Preservation  from  moral  defilement  is  in  itself  a 
form  of  sanctification  to  moral  good.  We  find  in 
this  suggestive  petition  three  divine  things. 

First,  there  is  here  mentioned  a  divine  grace — 
sanctificatio7i.      This   grace    the  disciples  already 

59 


6o  THE    SANCTIFYING    TRUTH 

partially  possessed.  They  were  already  set  apart 
by  an  external  separation  or  consecration  to  the 
apostolic  office  ;  but  the  word  means  vastly  more 
than  external  separation.  They  were  also  partially 
sanctified  in  their  inward  life  ;  but  the  word  here 
means  a  continuous  and  progressive  sanctification 
in  heart  and  life.  We  know  that  the  word  sancti- 
fied means,  in  its  primary  significance,  to  set  apart 
or  to  devote  to  a  religious  purpose.  In  this  sense 
the  word  would  apply  to  the  brute  creation,  to  the 
setting  apart  of  sacred  vessels,  and  to  other  inani- 
mate objects,  for  concerning  them  holiness,  in  its 
deepest  meaning,  cannot  be  affirmed.  The  term 
may  be  used  also  in  this  primary  sense  of  entirely 
holy  beings,  for  as  already  holy  they  cannot  be  set 
apart,  or  sanctified,  in  the  sense  of  increasing  their 
holiness.  The  deeper  meaning  of  the  word  is  to 
make  holy.  This  thought  leads  us,  of  course,  to 
very  much  higher  ground  than  mere  ceremonial 
cleansing,  purification,  or  consecration.  This  mean- 
ing leads  us  in  the  text  far  above  the  mere  separa- 
tion of  the  disciples  to  an  official  work.  It  refers 
to  internal  holiness,  and  not  simply  to  external 
consecration.  Christian  men  and  women  need  for 
Christian  service  sanctification  in  both  these  senses. 
Those  who  are  outwardly  consecrated  to  the  serv- 
ice of  God  need  internal  holiness  to  make  their 
outward  consecration  serviceable  to  God  and  help- 
ful to  men.  In  Christian  experience,  therefore, 
both  meanings  of  the  word  are  appropriately  united. 
The  meaning  in  this  text,  without  any  doubt,  is 


THE    SANCTIFYING    TRUTH  6 1 

to  make  holy  in  the  high  spiritual  sense  of  the 
term.  The  apostles  already  had  the  outward  con- 
secration ;  they  now  needed  inward  and  increasing 
holiness.  All  Christian  men  and  women  need  to 
be  separated  more  and  more  from  the  world,  and 
be  more  and  more  consecrated  to  God  in  body, 
soul,  and  spirit.  They  need  a  personal  faith  in 
the  crucified  Christ,  and  a  daily  renunciation  of 
sin.  True  believers  already  possess  this  grace, 
but  they  long  for  its  fuller  manifestation.  They 
hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness  ;  they  long 
to  become  like  their  Lord  and  Master,  Jesus 
Christ ;  and  they  can  never  be  satisfied  with  their 
present  attainments.  The  man  who  believes  that 
he  has  attained  to  perfect  sanctification  shows  by 
that  belief  that  he  has  very  inadequate  ideas  of 
what  perfect  sanctification  means.  However  high 
his  attainments  in  the  Christian  life  are  to-day, 
the  true  Christian  longs  to  make  them  higher  to- 
morrow. Like  the  Apostle  Paul,  he  does  not 
presume  to  have  already  attained  nor  to  be  already 
perfect ;  but,  like  him  also,  forgetting  the  things 
that  are  behind,  he  presses  forward  toward  the 
mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in 
Christ  Jesus.  If  any  one  might  claim  perfection 
in  Christian  character,  that  man  surely  was  the 
Apostle  Paul.  He  is  a  bold  man  who  will  lay 
claim  to  a  degree  of  holiness  which  the  Apostle 
Paul  did  not  claim  to  have  attained.  Who  may 
expect  to  surpass  him  in  glowing  love,  in  fervent 
zeal,  and  in  a  whole-hearted   consecration  to  the 


62  THE    SANCTIFYING    TRUTH 

service  of  Jesus  Christ  ?  Who  may  claim  to  have 
more  exalted  views  of  God  and  to  live  nearer  to 
God  than  this  same  apostle  ?  Men  who  claim  to 
have  attained  to  perfection  are  in  great  danger  of 
lowering  the  standard  of  perfection.  This  they 
are  much  more  likely  to  do  than  to  exalt  their 
own  character  to  the  likeness  of  Christ's. 

We  thus  see  that  sanctification  is  a  progressive 
grace.  Justification  is  a  completed  act ;  sanctifi- 
cation is  a  progressive  experience.  The  moment 
we  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  we  are  justified  by  faith 
in  him ;  and  simultaneously  with  the  act  of  justi- 
fication the  grace  of  sanctification  begins.  It  will 
continue  throughout  life.  One  may  not  say  to 
what  heights  it  is  possible  for  a  true  believer  to 
attain  even  while  on  the  earth.  He  becomes  a 
partaker  of  the  divine  nature,  as  the  Scripture 
distinctly  affirms ;  but  the  day  is  coming  when  he 
shall  see  Christ  as  he  is,  and  be  made  like  unto 
him  in  all  the  glory  of  his  perfect  character  and 
spotless  holiness.  Christ's  prayer  in  this  petition 
is  that  the  grace  of  sanctification  already  begun 
may  be  continued,  confirmed,  and  completed.  As 
Christ  is  the  author  of  the  good  work,  so  he  will 
also  be  the  finisher  of  the  perfect  character.  He 
will  gloriously  complete  that  which  he  has  gra- 
ciously begun.  Not  to  advance  in  the  Christian 
life  is  to  retrograde ;  no  duty  therefore  is  more  im- 
perative than  that  of  making  progress.  Standing 
still  is  absolutely  impossible.  Every  Christian  is 
like  a  man  on  a  bicycle — he  must  go  on  or  go  off. 


THE   SANCTIFYING    TRUTH  63 

and  that  very  soon.  To  grow  in  grace  is  both  a 
duty  and  a  privilege.  The  man  who  stops  grow- 
ing intellectually,  immediately  begins  to  die  intel- 
lectually. The  same  law  holds  true  in  the  spiritual 
life.  All  the  figures  applied  by  Christ  and  the 
apostles  to  the  Christian  life  imply  growth  therein, 
as  the  one  conclusive  evidence  of  the  existence  of 
the  Christian  life.  In  this  glorious  springtime,  if 
there  is  a  tree  which  gives  no  sign  whatever  of 
pulsing  life  or  bud  or  leaf,  we  are  warranted  in  af- 
firming that  it  has  no  life.  Growth  is  a  proof  of 
life.  One  difference  between  a  living  tree  and  a 
post  is  that  the  tree  grows,  the  post  does  not. 
When  our  Lord  spoke  of  the  leaven  and  the 
meal,  and  of  the  grain  of  mustard  seed,  the  idea 
of  growth  and  enlargement  was  as  fully  accepted 
as  inherent  life  was  assumed. 

This  thought  gives  significance  to  the  exhorta- 
tion to  young  believers  to  desire  the  sincere  milk 
of  the  word.  It  is  affirmed  that  they  are  to  grow 
thereby.  The  time  will  come  when  they  will  de- 
sire the  strong  meat  of  the  word.  The  idea  of 
growth  also  underlies  the  striking  comparison  of 
the  path  of  the  just  to  the  shining  light.  That 
light  shines  more  and  more;  it  grows  brighter  and 
brighter  even  unto  perfect  day.  All  the  figures 
used  by  the  Apostle  Paul  and  drawn  from  the 
race-course  and  from  the  various  athletic  games, 
teach  the  same  lesson  of  growth.  Thank  God, 
the  day  will  come  when  the  light  will  reach  its 
meridian  splendor ;  the  day  will  come  when  God 


64  THE    SANCTIFYING    TRUTH 

will  crown  our  struggling  Christian  lives  with  the 
perfection  and  beauty  of  holiness.  He  will  not 
leave  uncompleted  the  glorious  work  which  he  has 
lovingly  begun.  As  it  is  God  who  justifies,  so  it 
is  God  who  sanctifies.  We  are  to  soar  upward 
and  still  upward,  until  we  see  Christ  as  he  is  and 
are  made  like  unto  him  in  all  the  glory  of  his 
divine  humanity,  in  all  the  attainments  of  his  in- 
tellectuality, and  in  all  the  immaculate  holiness  of 
his  pure  and  heavenly  character. 

We  thus  plainly  see  that  our  sanctification  is  to 
be  a  perfected  grace.  This  thought  is  found 
throughout  our  Lord's  wonderful  prayer,  of  which 
this  text  is  a  petition.  That  prayer  is  the  true 
Lord's  Prayer.  What  we  so  often  call  by  that 
name  is,  strictly  speaking,  the  disciple's  prayer. 
Our  Lord  does  not  here  pray  to  the  Father  in  our 
sense  of  the  term.  He  makes  no  confession  of 
sin;  he  had  no  sins  to  confess.  His  prayer  is  the 
expression  of  his  will  to  his  Father  on  terms  of 
conscious  equality,  rather  than  the  petition  of  an 
inferior  to  his  superior.  Marvelous  is  the  prayer, 
taken  as  a  whole  ;  it  leads  us  to  the  heart  of  God. 
It  flows  on  in  language  as  simple  and  plain  as  it  is 
profound  and  lofty.  It  introduces  us  into  the  very 
holy  of  holies  of  the  gospel  history.  Throughout 
his  prayer  for  his  people  Christ  clearly  implies  that 
he  desires  them  to  be  cleansed  from  every  stain  of 
moral  impurity.  They  are  yet  to  be  without  spot 
or  wrinkle  or  any  such  thing ;  he  is  to  present 
them  blameless  unto  his  Father  and  ours.      Even 


THE    SANCTIFYING    TRUTH  6$ 

now  they  are  to  be  unspotted  from  the  world. 
They  are  to  gain  the  victory  over  the  world  ;  al- 
though now  in  it  they  are  not  to  be  of  it ;  it  is  to 
be  beneath  their  feet.  A  ship  is  not  injured  by 
being  in  water,  but  it  is  greatly  injured,  and  may 
be  utterly  destroyed,  by  having  the  water  come 
into  it.  To  be  in  the  water  is  its  natural  place, 
but  to  have  the  water  in  large  degree  in  it  is  to 
fail  of  the  purpose  of  its  creation.  In  like  man- 
ner Christians  are  to  be  in  the  world,  but  the 
world  is  not  to  be  in  them,  at  least  to  any  great 
degree.  The  world  would  suffer,  and  perhaps  be 
destroyed,  if  Christians  were  taken  from  it  ;  they 
are  a  preserving  element  amid  the  forces  for  evil 
in  the  world  to-day.  Christians  are  here  to  fight 
God's  battles  with  the  foes  of  truth  and  righteous- 
ness. They  are  the  salt  of  the  earth  ;  they  are 
the  light  of  the  world.  Without  them  the  world 
would  be  in  darkness,  and  would  speedily  hasten 
to  utter  destruction.  It  is  possible  for  them  to 
gain  the  victory  over  the  world  even  while  they  are 
engaged  in  its  affairs.  This  victory  is  a  glorious 
attainment ;  it  is  a  transcendent  triumph.  Body, 
soul,  and  spirit  are  to  be  wholly  sanctified  to  God, 
and  to  be  earnestly  used  in  the  service  of  men. 
This  three-fold  sanctification  is  the  aim,  the  ideal, 
the  goal  of  Christian  endeavor.  In  all  its  deep 
significance  it  may  not  be  realized  ;  but  the  loftier 
the  ideal,  the  loftier  the  actual  ;  for  as  are  our 
ideals  so  in  large  part  shall  we  ourselves  become. 
We  may  not  lower  the  divine  standard  ;  we  must 

£ 


66  THE    SANCTIFYING    TRUTH 

forever  press  onward  and  upward  toward  the  high- 
est possible  attainments  in  the  Christian  Hfe. 

We  have,  in  the  second  place,  in  this  text  a  divine 
instrumentality,  or  medium — "  TJiy  truth.''  Chris- 
tians are  to  be  sanctified  through  God's  truth,  or 
perhaps  we  ought  to  translate  the  clause,  "  in  thy 
truth."  If  we  adopt  this  latter  rendering  the  idea 
will  be  that  the  word  of  God  is  the  element  or 
medium,  the  atmosphere,  in  which  this  sanctifying 
process  takes  place.  True  Christians  are  repre- 
sented here  as  living  and  moving  in  the  word  of 
God  for  the  growth  of  their  spiritual  life,  as  they 
live  in  and  breathe  the  natural  air  for  the  growth 
of  their  physical  life.  God's  word  is  thus  a 
medium  or  means  of  sanctification.  God's  truth 
transforms  the  character  of  those  who  incorporate 
that  truth  into  their  life  and  soul.  It  is  a  blessed 
thing  for  Christians  to  live  in  the  atmosphere  or 
environment  of  divine  truth.  God  has  unexhausted 
and  inexhaustible  resources  ;  he  is  not  limited  to 
any  one  instrumentality  for  the  growth  of  his  chil- 
dren in  likeness  to  himself.  He  is  not  limited  in 
the  use  of  means,  but  in  his  infinite  wisdom  he 
has  chosen  to  employ  means  to  accomplish  his 
purposed  ends.  We  may  be  sure  that  the  means 
he  employs  are  the  best  adapted  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  ends  which  he  designs.  God 
never  wastes  power ;  he  never  needlessly  multi- 
plies miracles.  There  is  evermore  a  close  relation 
between  the  means  he  employs  and  our  deepest 
needs    which    he    intends    to    supply.      His   word 


THE    SANCTIFYING    TRUTH  6/ 

must  be  incorporated  into  our  souls  ;  it  must  be 
masticated  by  our  spiritual  natures ;  it  must  be- 
come assimilated  to  our  spiritual  bone,  blood,  and 
marrow.  In  this  way  we  receive  the  thoughts  of 
God  into  our  thoughts,  the  life  of  God  into  our 
life,  and  the  very  heart  and  soul  of  God,  if  one 
may  so  speak,  into  the  center  of  our  mental  and 
moral  natures. 

It  is  a  marvelous,  almost  an  ineffable,  thought 
that  sinful  men  and  women  can  come  into  this 
close  relation  and  divine  fellowship  with  the  pure 
and  holy  God.  Our  blessed  Lord  has  emphasized 
the  possibility  of  this  intimate  and  vital  union. 
He  is  the  divine  and  heavenly  vine ;  we  are  the 
human  but  genuine  branches  from  the  divine 
stem ;  and  the  divine  sap  and  life  pass  to  the  tip 
of  every  leaf  for  the  ripening  of  the  luscious  fruit. 
Separated  from  the  living  vine  we  become  lifeless  ; 
united  to  this  vine  we  ourselves  become  the 
possessors  of  a  divine  and  eternal  life.  God's 
word  is  the  channel  or  medium,  the  instrument, 
by  which  true  sanctification  is  to  be  received  by  us 
and  to  be  manifested  through  us  unto  the  world. 
We  must  bear  in  mind  that  while  the  word  is  the 
instrument  which  the  Spirit  commonly  employs, 
the  word  of  itself  cannot  sanctify  us  to  the  service 
of  God  or  to  likeness  to  his  character.  The  word 
rightly  understood  is  the  seed  of  the  new  birth  ; 
it  is  the  food  of  the  new  life  in  Christ.  The  word 
is  the  incarnation  of  the  thought  of  God  ;  when 
we  truly  receive  the  word,  we  receive  the  thought 


68  THE    SANCTIFYING    TRUTH 

which  it  embodies.  Community  of  thought  with 
God  results  in  likeness  of  character  with  God. 
All  true  Christians  know  by  a  blessed  experience 
that  the  word  properly  understood  is  efficient  in 
producing  likeness  to  God  in  our  character  and 
life.  The  psalmist  affirms  that  he  hid  God's  word 
in  his  heart  that  he  might  not  sin  against  God  ; 
and  in  so  doing  he  put  the  best  thing  in  the  best 
place  and  for  the  best  purpose.  All  true  students 
of  the  Bible  have  found  that  it  was  a  compass  to 
guide  them  over  the  sea  of  life,  however  numerous 
were  the  rocks  and  however  dense  the  fogs. 
Neglecters  of  the  Bible  could  add  their  testimony 
showing  how  much  they  lose  by  opposition,  or  even 
indifference,  to  the  thought  of  God  as  revealed  in 
the  word  of  God.  The  Bible  is  a  self -evidencing 
power  which  all  its  true  students  constantly  ex- 
perience. If  the  light  of  God's  Holy  Spirit  shines 
upon  God's  Holy  word,  God's  thoughts  will  be 
seen  in  all  the  tenderness  of  their  love,  in  all  the 
grandeur  of  their  majesty,  and  in  much  of  the 
divinity  of  their  divine  author.  Happy  are  we 
when  God's  word  is  the  channel  through  which 
God  speaks  to  us  in  direction  and  command,  and 
through  which  we  speak  to  God  in  supplication 
and  confession,  in  prayer  and  in  praise.  Let  us 
feed  on  this  divine  manna  ;  let  our  souls  rejoice  in 
this  channel  of  communication  between  sinful  men 
and  a  Holy  God,  and  let  the  voice  of  God  ever 
sound  through  his  revealed  word,  rebuking  our  sins 
and  calming  our  fears,  increasing  our  faith,  multi- 


THE    SANCTIFYING    TRUTH  69 

plying  our  hopes,  and  quickening  our  zeal  for  the 
salvation  of  men  and  for  the  honor  of  Christ. 

We  have  here,  in  the  last  place,  a  divine  defini- 
tion— "  Thy  word  is  truthr  This  is  a  blessed 
definition.  Perhaps  the  disciples,  and  perhaps  also 
Jesus,  had  in  mind  the  sad  condition  out  of  which 
sprang  the  sneering  inquiry  of  Pilate,  "  What  is 
truth .-'"  Jesus  therefore,  adds,  "thy  word  is 
truth."  The  literal  translation  is  still  more  force- 
ful, "The  word  that  is  thine  is  truth."  Christ 
must  mean  just  what  he  said  when  he  uttered 
these  words.  Christ  is  the  soul  of  truth  as  a 
revelation  from  God,  and  as  the  chief  object  of 
desire  among  men.  All  men  should  desire  truth 
above  all  besides.  The  question  with  us  ought 
not  to  be  concerning  the  new  theology  or  the  old 
theology,  but  only  concerning  the  true  theology. 
Truth  is  the  daughter  of  God ;  truth  is  the  child 
of  eternity ;  truth  is  the  inheritor  of  eternal  life. 
It  matters  not  by  what  messenger  it  is  broMght  or 
from  what  source  it  come,  truth  is  truth  forever- 
more.  Truth  ought  to  be  welcomed  by  us  even 
though  it  destroys  our  traditions  and  shatters  our 
conventional  beliefs.  Truth  never  can  contradict 
itself.  What  God  has  spoken  in  one  department 
of  revelation  must  harmonize  with  what  God 
speaks  in  all  other  forms  of  revelation.  God's 
truth  is  the  end  of  all  strife.  More  than  truth  no 
man  can  ask  ;  with  less  than  truth  no  man  ought 
to  be  satisfied.  Doubtless  the  language  of  Christ 
here  refers  to  the  word  of  God  as  given  in  the 


70  THE    SANCTIFYING    TRUTH 

Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  The 
Holy  Scriptures  are  the  fullest  revelation  of  the 
truth  of  God  that  the  world  has  received.  God's 
thoughts  are  made  known  in  his  works  as  truly 
but  not  as  clearly  as  in  his  word.  Creation  and 
revelation  are  but  different  books  in  the  one  great 
volume.  God's  thoughts  are  written  in  earth  and 
air  and  sea  and  sky  ;  but  they  are  written  with  the 
utmost  fullness,  clearness,  and  blessedness  in  the 
book  which  the  world  calls,  because  of  its  super- 
lative excellence,  the  Bible.  This  book  speaks 
often  of  God's  truth  and  will,  of  which  it  is  an 
embodiment.  It  frequently  refers  to  the  power- 
ful influence  of  the  truth  which  it  reveals.  In  the 
one  hundred  and  nineteenth  Psalm,  that  psalm 
which  through  one  hundred  and  seventy-six  verses 
repeats,  in  various  forms  of  expression,  blessed 
things  of  the  law  of  God,  we  have  illustrations  of 
the  power  of  God's  truth  to  guide  us  in  life's  per- 
plexities and  to  glorify  God  in  all  his  providences. 
The  reference  here  is  thus  not  strictly  to  the 
personal  Logos  or  Word  as  a  title  of  Jesus  Christ ; 
it  is  rather  to  the  truth  or  teaching  of  God  as 
found  in  the  written  word — truth  communicated  by 
men  and  still  more  fully  by  Christ  himself.  But 
in  its  highest  significance  the  reference  is  to  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  incarnate  Word.  He  is  the  embodi- 
ment of  truth  ;  he  is  king  in  the  realm  of  truth. 
This  statement  is  based  on  his  own  language  as 
spoken  to  Pilate.  Jesus  Christ  did  not  deny  that 
he  was  a  king  ;  he  was  not  a  king  in  the  sense  in 


THE   SAN'CTIFYING    TRUTH  7 1 

which  Pilate  understood  the  words,  but  in  the  vast 
realm  of  truth  he  is  king,  and  to  us  he  is  the  incar- 
nation of  truth  and  of  God. 

The  text  gives  us  not  only  a  true  definition  but 
a  choice  definition  of  truth.  Thousands  are  asking 
to-day  as  Pilate  asked,  in  his  day,  what  is  truth  .'' 
Sometimes  they  are  ready  to  give  up  the  quest  in 
despair ;  sometimes  they  multiply  falsities  in  their 
mistaken  endeavors  to  discover  the  verities  of 
God's  revelation  to  men.  One  is  never  sadder 
than  when  he  sees  men  giving  up  the  search  after 
truth  and  sinking  into  indifference,  hopelessness, 
and  falsity.  Thank  God,  there  is  a  truth  that  is 
enduring,  pure,  and  divine.  Thank  God  that 
Jesus  Christ  has  made  himself  known  as  the  way, 
the  truth,  and  the  life.  We  are  told  that  the  poet 
Tennyson  in  the  pavement  of  the  entrance  hall  to 
one  of  his  homes  had  in  encaustic  tiles  this  motto : 
"Truth  against  the  world."  This  motto  is  older 
far  than  the  days  of  Tennyson.  It  is  worthy  of 
being  written  on  the  page  of  every  volume,  at  the 
head  of  every  sermon,  and  over  the  door  of  every 
heart.  Happy  are  they  who  seek  and  who  find 
truth.  Finely  did  Pythagoras  say  :  "  That  if  God 
were  to  render  himself  visible  to  men,  he  would 
choose  light  for  his  body  and  truth  for  his  soul." 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  word;  Jesus  Christ  is  the  truth; 
they  who  accept  him  as  their  Prophet  to  instruct 
them,  their  Priest  to  atone  for  them,  and  their 
King  to  command  them,  shall  walk  in  truth's  high- 
way.    They  shall  have  the  best  of  guides,  and  the 


72  THE   SANCTIFYING    TRUTH 

best  of  companions,  and  they  shall  at  the  last  reach 
the  gate  of  that  city  of  which  it  is  said  :  "And  there 
shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  it  anything  that  defileth, 
neither  whatsoever  worketh  abomination,  or  maketh 
a  lie ;  but  they  which  are  written  in  the  Lamb's 
book  of  life," 


THE  BURNING  BUSH 


And  the  Angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  unto  him  in  aflame 
of  fi.re  out  of  the  tttidst  of  a  bush;  and  he  looked,  and,  be- 
hold, the  bush  burned  with  fire,  and  the  bush  was  not  con- 
sumed. — Exod.  J  :  2. 


V 


FOR  long  and  weary  years  the  oppression  of 
Israel  had  been  in  progress.  Doubtless  it 
sometimes  seemed  to  the  people  of  God  that  God 
was  deaf,  or  blind,  or  even  dead  ;  to  them  the 
heavens  seemed  brass  and  the  earth  iron.  But 
the  time  had  now  come  for  God  to  reveal  himself 
to  his  people.  The  darkest  hour  was  before  the 
dawn.  During  these  weary  years  the  deliverer  was 
growing  up  and  was  receiving  divine  training  for 
his  heroic  career. 

The  life  of  Moses  is  divided  into  three  equal 
parts  of  forty  years  each.  The  first  of  these  pe- 
riods was  spent  at  the  court  of  Pharaoh  receiving 
training  in  all  the  learning  of  Egypt ;  the  second 
was  spent  in  the  wilderness  of  Midian  ;  and  the 
third  in  leading  the  children  of  Israel  from 
Egyptian  bondage  to  the  confines  of  the  land  of 
Canaan. 

But  little  is  said  in  Scripture  regarding  the 
forty  years  spent  in  the  land  of  Midian.  Moses 
himself  is  the  narrator  of  the  events  of  that  period, 
and  he  does  not  give  us  the  details  of  his  life 
during  his  humble  retirement.  He  was  simply  a 
shepherd  during  this  period  of  forty  years ;  his 
days,  doubtless,  passed  quietly  away  in  the  per- 
formance of  his  routine  duties,  and  in  what  men 

75 


'j6  THE    BURNING    BUSH 

ordinarily  judge  a  lowly  occupation.  His  shepherd 
life  was  in  marked  contrast  with  his  life  in  Egypt. 
Then  he  was  a  courtier,  familiar  with  the  ways  of 
kings  ;  now  he  was  a  shepherd,  familiar  with  flocks 
and  pastures.  Then  he  was  surrounded  by  all  the 
splendors  of  royalty;  now  he  walked  amid  the 
rough  places  of  the  desert.  Then  he  was  honored 
by  his  superiors  and  served  by  his  inferiors  ;  now 
he  was  exposed  to  heat  and  cold  and  lived  on  the 
coarsest  fare.  Then  he  was  the  companion  of 
princes ;  now  his  companions  were  shepherds  and 
sheep.  He  voluntarily  made  the  change;  he  hero- 
ically chose  the  reproach  of  Christ  rather  than  the 
pleasures  of  sin.  Never  was  he  so  happy  in  tread- 
ing the  marble  palaces  of  Egypt  as  he  was  in 
traversing  the  rocky  deserts  of  Midian.  He  slept 
better  on  the  ground  under  the  shelter  of  a  tent 
than  he  did  on  couches  of  state  in  palaces  of 
marble. 

In  desert  places  God  has  often  spoken  his 
sweetest  and  sublimest  truths  to  his  servants. 
Our  hurried  lives  give  us  too  few  opportunities  for 
quiet  thought  and  for  divine  fellowship.  "  A  lodge 
in  some  vast  wilderness  "  may  be  a  school  for  ac- 
quiring divine  knowledge  and  sanctified  wisdom. 
Many  a  man  has  found  the  retirement  which  a 
slight  illness  necessitates,  to  be  one  of  the  most 
fruitful  experiences  of  his  life.  Dr.  Francis  Way- 
land  tells  us  that  he  never  learned  so  much  of 
God's  word,  and  never  rejoiced  so  greatly  in  its 
truths  as  when  he  studied  it  on  a  bed  of  illness. 


THE    BURNING    BUSH  J"] 


It  seems  to  be  one  of  God's  methods  of  training 
his  great  servants  that  they  should  have  a  period  of 
retirement  to  study  themselves  and  to  study  himself. 
John  Knox  found  such  opportunities  for  study  when 
he  was  a  prisoner  in  the  French  galleys.  Luther 
found  it  in  the  monastery  and  the  Wartburg  when 
he  learned  both  the  weakness  and  the  strength  of 
the  system  of  Romanism  which  he  was  so  largely 
to  destroy.  William  the  Silent,  at  the  court  of 
Philip  the  Second,  went  through  an  experience 
not  unlike  that  of  Luther.  The  Apostle  Paul  had 
to  spend  three  years  in  Arabia  before  he  was  ready 
for  his  great  work.  Elijah  found  his  retirement 
at  Cherith  and  later  in  Horeb.  John  the  Bap- 
tist came  forth  from  the  wilderness  as  a  forerunner 
of  Jesus  the  Christ. 

Moses  learned  wonderful  lessons  during  those 
silent  years.  Pie  communed  with  God  face  to 
face ;  he  was  lifted  above  all  mean  and  selfish 
motives  ;  he  lived  in  a  heavenly  atmosphere.  The 
barren  desolation  was  to  him  an  invaluable  school, 
in  the  silence  of  this  solitude  God's  voice  alone 
could  be  heard.  Some  think  that  at  this  time  he 
wrote  the  ninetieth  Psalm.  He  certainly  was  a 
poet  as  well  as  a  statesman,  lawgiver,  and  prophet. 
The  archaic  majesty  of  the  psalm  is  in  entire  har- 
mony with  its  Mosaic  authorship,  but  it  is  more 
likely  that  he  wrote  it  near  the  close  of  the  pil- 
grimage in  the  wilderness. 

Moses  learned  more  in  many  practical  ways 
during  his  sojourn  in  Midian  than  during  his  forty 


78  THE    BURNING    BUSH 

years  in  Egypt.  He  acquired  hardihood  of  body, 
self-reliance  of  soul,  mastery  of  himself,  and  sublime 
trust  in  God.  This  period  of  enforced  retirement, 
however,  was  not  without  its  trials.  The  years 
were  passing,  and  health  and  vigor  would  soon 
decline.  Is  this  the  only  life  that  God  intends  for 
this  heroic  soul  ?  Had  God  no  other  meaning  in 
the  long  training  at  the  court  of  Egypt .''  Was  he 
trained  at  that  court  simply  that  he  might  keep 
sheep .-'  Questions  like  these  must  have  agitated 
the  soul  of  Moses  ;  but  for  long  years  the  silence 
was  unbroken  by  any  voice  from  above  calling  him 
to  nobler  work.  But  that  work  was  now  to  be  as- 
signed him  by  God.  God  was  training  him  for 
the  foremost  place  in  the  leadership  of  Israel. 
God  was  training  him  for  the  foremost  place  in  the 
whole  history  of  the  Israelitish  nation.  God  was 
training  him  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  men  the 
world  has  ever  produced.  Perhaps  David  is  the 
greatest  hero  of  Israel  to  Israelites  ;  but  Moses  is 
certainly  to  the  other  nations  the  most  command- 
ing figure  Israel  has  presented  to  the  world. 
Among  his  other  elements  of  greatness  was  the 
meekness  which  he  showed  in  the  wilderness,  and 
which  he  will  now  show  when  God's  call  comes. 
Moses  endured  as  seeing  him  who  is  invisible ; 
only  the  man  who  sees  the  invisible  can  do  the 
impossible.  The  patience  of  Moses  was  a  marked 
element  of  his  power.  Patience  is  genius.  His 
modesty  was  as  beautiful  as  his  endurance  wa? 
heroic. 


THE    BURNING    BUSH  79 

But  the  time  is  now  coming  when  Moses  must 
enter  a  larger  sphere  of  duty.  The  second  period 
of  forty  years  is  drawing  to  a  close.  He  now 
comes  to  the  back  side  of  the  desert.  This  was, 
doubtless,  a  place  of  good  pasturage  ;  perhaps  that 
was  the  chief  thought  in  the  mind  of  Moses  at  the 
moment.  It  is  sublime  to  see  a  man  move  all  un- 
consciously, but  still  under  divine  guidance,  to  the 
gateway  of  a  marvelous  opportunity,  of  a  sublime 
history,  and  of  a  glorious  immortality.  Oftener 
than  we  know  we  stand  at  some  such  door,  but 
are  unfitted  by  character  and  training  to  enter  the 
possibly  rough,  but  certainly  noble  pathway.  The 
traditional  spot  of  the  great  experience  in  the  life 
of  Moses  is  in  the  vale  of  Hobab  on  the  north 
side  of  Jebel  Musa ;  the  convent  of  St.  Catherine 
now  stands  on  the  supposed  place,  and  the  altar  is 
said  to  be  on  the  site  of  the  burning  bush.  Per- 
haps, as  Josephus  says,  it  was  the  loftiest  of  all 
the  mountains  in  that  region.  There  was  a  popular 
belief  that  this  mountain  was  the  dwelling-place  of 
the  deity,  and  it  is  said  that  the  shepherds  feared 
to  approach  it.  On  this  mountain  was  an  acacia 
tree,  a  thorn  tree,  of  the  desert.  It  was  but  a 
lowly  tree ;  its  tangled  branches  spread  out  over 
the  rocky  ground.  Moses  approaches  this  sacred 
spot.  The  rocky  ground  becomes  holy ;  the  shep- 
herd must  remove  his  sandals ;  he  must  comport 
himself  as  if  on  the  threshold  of  a  palace  or  of  a 
temple.  Immediately  the  bush  is  seen  to  be 
aflame  ;  already  the  mount  is  called  the  Mount  of 


80  THE    BURNING    BUSH 

God,  from  the  signal  displays  of  divine  power 
about  to  be  narrated.  The  first  effect  of  flame  is 
to  consume,  but  this  fire  although  wrapping  the 
lowly  shrub  in  a  garment  of  flame  does  not  burn. 
It  is  this  fact  that  so  arrests  the  attention  of  Moses. 
He  must  turn  aside  to  see  what  is  the  meaning  of 
this  "  great  sight." 

It  was  not  a  created  angel  who  now  communicated 
with  Moses  in  this  marvelous  way.  He  is  called 
the  Lord,  or  as  it  is  in  the  original,  "Jehovah"  ; 
and  later  in  the  chapter  some  of  the  most  expres- 
sive attributes  of  deity  are  applied  to  him.  He  is 
an  angel  simply  in  the  sense  of  being  a  messenger. 
He  was  the  messenger  of  the  covenant,  and  this 
messenger  was  none  other  than  Jesus  Christ  the 
leader  of  Israel  and  the  Redeemer  of  all  believers. 
Fire  was  among  the  Hebrews  a  symbol  of  deity. 
God  accompanied  the  Israelites  afterward  as  a 
pillar  of  fire  by  night,  and  a  sword  of  fire  guarded 
the  gates  of  Eden.  In  a  chariot  of  fire  Elijah 
went  up  to  glory  and  to  God.  Probably  the  pillar 
of  fire  which  accompanied  Israel  became  the  sym- 
bol of  God  between  the  cherubim  in  the  Holy  of 
Holies.  This  idea  of  fire  as  representing  deity 
was  illustrated  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  in  the 
tongues  of  fire  that  rested  over  the  heads  of  the 
disciples.  Applied  to  spiritual  things  the  fuel  for 
fire  is  moral  evil.  Spiritual  fire  does  not  create 
but  reveals  purity.  This  idea  lies  at  the  bottom 
of  the  whole  system  of  Zoroaster.  The  Parsees 
affirm  that  they  do  not  worship  fire,  but  regard  it 


THE    BURNING    BUSH  8l 

simply  as  the  symbol  of  deity.  There  are  among 
them  traditions  that  while  Zoroaster  was  in  the 
retirement  of  a  mountain  he  saw  the  whole  moun- 
tain aflame,  but  that  he  came  out  of  the  midst  of 
the  flame  without  injury  and  that  he  then  offered 
sacrifices  to  God.  Even  the  Greek  dramatists 
and  poets  speak  of  the  deity  as  "  formless  and  im- 
petuous fire."  When  the  promise  of  Israel's  de- 
liverance out  of  Egypt  was  given  to  Abraham  he 
saw  a  burning  lamp.  Perhaps  this  lamp  signified 
the  light  of  joy  which  that  deliverance  should 
bring ;  but  now  that  the  deliverance  is  nearer  and 
the  promise  is  about  to  be  fulfilled  the  light  be- 
came brighter,  enveloping  the  bush  in  its  fiery  em- 
brace. In  flame  God  manifested  his  glory  in  the 
giving  of  the  law.  This  mountain  was  afterward  to 
become  famous  in  the  history  of  God's  people. 
Not  only  did  he  here  appear  now  to  Moses,  but 
here  he  appeared  in  the  giving  of  the  law,  when 
Moses  fasted  forty  days  and  nights  and  from  this 
mountain  brought  to  the  people  the  two  tables 
of  the  law.  Here  Joshua  was  made  to  prevail  over 
Amalek.  Wonderful  thoughts  gather  about  the 
abrupt  cliffs  of  this  granite  range.  Never  shall  I 
forget  seeing,  as  I  sailed  over  the  Red  Sea  on  a 
calm  Sunday  afternoon,  part  of  this  Sinaitic  range 
flushed  as  it  was  with  a  soft  pink  hue  at  times 
characteristic  of  that  region. 

We  stand  for  a  little  time  with  uncovered  head 
and  unsandaled  foot  beside  Moses  as  he  gazes  on 
this  tree  aflame  with  the  glory  of  God.     It  is  no 


82  THE    BURNING    BUSH 

stately  palm  tree,  no  graceful  olive  tree,  but  a  little 
thorn  or  acacia.  It  glows  with  flame,  but  it  is  not 
burned.  We  listen  with  sacred  awe  to  the  divine 
voice  which  Moses  heard.  The  Lord  announces 
his  great  name.  He  does  not  make  himself  known 
as  the  God  of  Levi,  of  Kohath,  or  of  Amram,  the 
immediate  progenitors  of  Moses,  but  he  makes 
himself  known  as  the  God  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac, 
and  of  Jacob.  Wonderful  are  the  revelations 
which  he  now  makes  to  Moses  of  his  observance 
of  all  the  afflictions  of  his  people.  God  is  not 
dead ;  God  is  not  blind ;  God  is  not  deaf ;  God 
heard  their  cries,  he  saw  their  sorrows,  and  he  has 
now  come  in  mighty  power  and  great  glory  for 
their  deliverance.  No  wonder  Moses  hid  his  face 
and  was  afraid  to  look  upon  God.  Let  us  learn 
some  of  the  lessons  which  Moses  learned,  and 
which  these  striking  incidents-so  fully  teach  us. 

First,  we  Icarji  tJiat  fire  is  a7i  emblem  of  the  deity. 
This  thought  we  have  already  touched  upon  as 
related  to  Israel  and  to  some  other  nations.  There 
is  a  sense  in  which  God  is  still  a  consuming  fire. 
He  destroys  moral  evil  with  the  consuming  flame 
of  his  purity  and  power.  He  still  puts  his  chosen 
ones  into  the  fiery  furnace  that  their  dross  may  be 
consumed  and  their  gold  refined.  The  purity  of 
his  law  is  still  as  fire  as  it  was  at  Mt.  Sinai  in  its 
opposition  to  sin  and  all  its  works.  There  still 
comes  a  fire  out  from  before  the  Lord  to  consume 
evil  and  its  deadly  fruits.  God  still  puts  his 
chosen  into  the  furnace  of  trial  heated  seven  times 


THE    BURNING    BUSH  83 

hot,  but  he  never  deserts  his  chosen  ;  he  designs 
to  bring  us  into  sweet  conformity  to  his  holy  and 
righteous  will.  We  shall  learn  to  say  with  the  be- 
loved Whittier,  even  when  passing  through  fiery 
trials  : 

If  from  thy  ordeal's  heated  bars 
Our  feet  are  seamed  with  crimson  scars, 
Thy  will  be  done. 

Second,  the  burning  bush  was  a  symbol  of  the 
oppressions,  and  tJie  flaming  fire  of  the  oppressors, 
of  God's  people.  The  bush  was  itself  a  lowly 
one  ;  that  fact  is  not  without  significance.  God's 
people  in  Egypt  were  lowly  in  the  esteem  of  their 
Egyptian  taskmasters.  The  bush  was  burning,  but 
it  was  not  burned ;  although  lambent  tongues  of 
flame  licked  its  branches,  these  branches  were  not 
consumed.  This  tree  aflame  finely  sets  forth  the 
condition  of  Israel  in  Egypt.  The  people  were 
afflicted  by  the  violence  of  their  foes,  but  they 
were  not  thereby  destroyed.  They  were  oppressed, 
afflicted,  and  tormented  with  cruel  bondage,  but 
they  still  multiplied ;  though  but  as  a  briar  or 
bramble  or  thorn  bush,  they  still  lived  and  grew. 
Naturally  the  fire  would  immediately  destroy  this 
lowly  shrub  ;  as  in  the  case  before  Moses  the  fact 
that  the  bush  was  not  burned  arrested  his  attention, 
so  the  symbol  before  us  ought  to  arrest  our  at- 
tention. We,  like  Moses,  should  manifest  a  sancti- 
fied curiosity.  We,  like  Moses,  should  desire  to 
be  taught  of  God  the  lessons  which  the  symbol  is 


84  THE    BURNING    BUSH 

intended  to  set  forth.  God  is  often  near  us,  but 
we  see  him  not ;  he  speaks,  but  we  do  not  recognize 
his  voice.  Such  a  manifestation  as  this  is  intended 
to  emphasize  great  moral  truths  and  duties.  God 
spoke  to  Jacob  to  encourage  him  to  go  down  into 
Egypt.  Now  after  two  hundred  years  he  speaks 
to  Moses  to  encourage  him  to  go  to  Egypt  to 
bring  his  people  out  of  bondage.  We  have  sinned 
and  God's  wrath  must  flame  out  against  us,  but 
God  speaks  to  us  in  the  gospel,  informing  us  of  the 
great  Deliverer.  As  God  walked  with  his  three 
faithful  servants  in  the  fiery  furnace,  and  they 
were  not  consumed,  so  he  still  walks  with  his  peo- 
ple for  their  protection  and  deliverance.  His 
church  often  since  has  been  in  the  flames  of  fierce 
persecution.  He  permitted  the  fires  of  pagan 
and  papal  Rome  to  be  kindled  against  his  believing 
people,  but  the  Lollards,  the  Albigenses,  the 
Huguenots,  and  the  Covenanters  were  not  destroyed 
by  the  fierce  flame.  Noble  souls  trod  the  valleys 
and  climbed  the  hills  of  Scotland,  sometimes 
wrapped  by  God  in  the  mists  of  the  mountains  to 
hide  them  from  their  savage  foes.  Beautiful  is 
the  motto  chosen  by  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and 
suggested  by  the  flaming  bush  seen  by  Moses  : 
"  Nee  tamen  consnmebatiiry 

TJiird,  this  bush  of  flame  is  the  symbol  of  the 
ehildren  of  Israel  even  to  this  day.  They  have 
been  despised  and  persecuted  by  every  nation 
under  heaven,  but  they  still  live  and  prosper. 
They  are  strangers  in  foreign  lands  ;  they  have  no 


THE    BURNING    BUSH  8$ 

flag,  no  government,  no  country,  except  the  flags, 
the  governments,  and  the  countries  under  which 
and  in  which  they  find  a  home.  One  would  have 
said  that  long  ago  they  would  perish  from  the  earth 
or  become  amalgamated  with  those  about  them. 
But  not  so;  they  still  live  as  a  separate  people 
among  many  peoples.  They  still  maintain  dis- 
tinctive characteristics  of  face  and  faith ;  they 
have  survived  the  lapse  of  ages ;  and  they  have 
performed  important  parts  in  the  history,  the  litera- 
ture, and  the  civilization  of  the  world.  They  have 
long  been  burning,  but  are  still  unburned.  God 
undoubtedly  has  yet  some  great  design  for  his 
chosen  people.  Assuredly  they  are  yet  to  be 
grafted  into  their  own  olive  tree.  Perhaps  they 
have  neither  thought  nor  desire  of  going  back  to 
the  land  of  Israel.  Those  in  America  find  their 
promised  land  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  liberty 
granted  to  all  nations  under  our  flag.  We  cannot 
but  believe  that  God  is  still  with  them  ;  that  God 
still  remembers  his  covenant  with  their  fathers  and 
that  he  will  fulfill  his  great  purposes  in  the  case  of 
his  people.  This  symbol  finds  its  illustration  also 
in  the  case  of  individual  believers  ;  they  have  been 
tempted  and  tried  in  all  the  years  of  their  history, 
but  they  still  live  as  witnesses  of  God's  sustaining 
grace.  God's  church  will  never  be  destroyed  ;  the 
gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  her ;  she 
has  often  been  in  the  wilderness  ;  she  has  often 
prophesied  in  sackcloth  ;  she  has  often  suffered 
bonds  and  imprisonment  as  a  witness  for  Christ, 


86  THE    BURNING    BUSH 

but  God  is  in  the  midst  of  his  church,  she  shall 
not  be  moved.  "  When  thou  passest  through  the 
waters,  I  will  be  with  thee  ;  and  through  the  rivers, 
they  shall  not  overflow  thee;  when  thou  walkest 
through  the  fire,  thou  shalt  not  be  burned  ;  neither 
shall  the  flame  kindle  upon  thee." 

Fourth,  we  may  learn  sweet  lessons  from  the 
great  name  which  God  gave  himself  in  his  com- 
municatio)i  to  Moses — ^'  I  am  that  I  am.''  It  was 
necessary  that  Moses  should  have  authority  for  the 
great  mission  on  which  he  was  to  enter;  and  he 
must  be  able  to  cite  that  authority  as  the  justifi- 
cation for  his  appeal  to  Pharaoh.  God  has  made 
himself  known  in  his  word  by  many  names. 
When  he  appeared  to  Abraham  he  called  himself 
El  Shaddai,  God  Almighty.  This  name  indicated 
that  he  was  infinitely  able  to  fulfill  the  promise 
made  to  Abraham  of  a  son  in  his  old  age.  On 
other  occasions  he  called  himself  the  Most  High, 
the  Ancient  of  Days,  Jehovah,  and  by  still  other 
titles  equally  significant.  These  names  were  pre- 
cursors of  a  fuller  revelation  of  God's  character ; 
each  new  title  brought  out  a  new  element  in  God's 
character  appropriate  to  the  existing  necessity  of 
his  people. 

He  now  gives  a  definite  answer  to  the  definite 
question  asked  by  Moses.  The  literal  translation 
is  "I  will  be  that  I  will  be."  He  thus  reveals 
himself  as  the  Existing  One,  as  the  Eternal,  who 
is  without  beginning  of  life  or  end  of  days.  This 
new  title  thus  denotes  the  underived,  eternal,  and 


THE    BURNING    BUSH  87 

unchangeable  existence  of  the  great  Being  to 
whom  it  is  applied.  It  also  sets  forth  God,  who 
eternally  is  in  opposition  to  the  pretended  deities 
of  the  Egyptians.  They  were  vanity,  they  were 
a  nonentity;  he  is  a  reality,  he  is  an  eternal  truth. 
As  such  he  can  fulfill  every  promise  made  to 
Abraham,  to  Isaac,  and  to  Jacob,  and  now  to 
Moses.  With  marvelous  power  this  name  must 
have  come  to  Pharaoh,  as  setting  forth  a  self- 
existent  and  immutable  God,  in  opposition  to  the 
idols  of  Egypt.  The  future  tense  in  this  name 
has  the  force  of  a  continuous  present.  There 
may  be,  strictly  speaking,  a  grammatical  anomaly 
in  the  name;  but  when  God  reveals  his  name,  he 
may  well  also  reveal  a  new  grammatical  law.  This 
is  his  memorial  name  unto  all  generations.  Beauti- 
fully is  the  truth  of  this  name  brought  out  in  the 
words  of  the  psalm :  "  Thy  name,  O  Jehovah, 
endureth  forever,  and  thy  memorial,  O  Jehovah, 
unto  all  generations." 

These  words  would  give  alarm  to  Pharaoh,  joy 
to  Israel,  and  assurance  to  Moses.  The  God  who 
ever  lived  would  ever  be  mindful  of  his  chosen. 
Moses  was  now  armed  with  a  name  of  potency 
and  majesty.  He  now  could  speak  with  the 
authority  of  the  Almighty.  In  that  same  mighty 
name  we  find  refuge.  The  Lord  Christ  took  up 
the  thought  of  this  name  when  he  said :  "  Before 
Abraham  was,  I  AM  ;"  and  "Lo,  I  AM  with  you 
unto  the  end  of  the  world."  The  Jesus  of  the 
New  Testament  is  the  Jehovah,  the  great   I  AM 


THE    BURNING    BUSH 


of  the  Old  Testament.  May  we  ever  find  by 
sweet  experience  the  blessedness  of  those  to  whom 
the  name  of  the  Lord  is  a  strong  tower,  and  who 
running  to  him  are  saved  forevermore  ! 

This  name  of  God  is  full  of  instruction  for  us, 
as  used  by  our  Lord  to  prove  the  doctrine  of  our 
immortality.  He  taught  us  that  God  was  the 
God,  not  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living;  and  in 
proving  that  point  he  described  him  as  the  God  of 
Abraham,  of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob.  This  is  a  won- 
derfully sublime  name ;  this  is  a  gloriously  beauti- 
ful doctrine.  In  that  name  let  us  sweetly  rest ; 
the  name  of  our  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King;  the 
name  of  him  who  is  our  deliverer  from  bondage 
worse  than  that  of  Egypt ;  the  name  of  him  who 
pitieth  like  a  father  and  comforteth  like  a  mother. 
May  we  ever  be  ready  with  a  holy  curiosity  to 
turn  aside,  like  Moses,  to  see  the  presence  and  to 
hear  the  voice  of  God  even  in  the  ordinary  duties 
of  life  !  Then  shall  we  find  that  every  lowly  bush 
on  life's  highway  is  aflame  with  the  glory  of  God 
and  voiceful  with  its  command  of  God  to  his 
obedient  disciples. 


THE  ALLOTTED  TASK 


To  every  man  his  work.  — Mark  ij  :  J4. 


VI 

THIS  text  teaches  us  clearly  that  God  has  a 
plan  for  every  life.  Far  back  in  the  coun- 
cils of  eternity  the  life-work  of  each  man  and 
woman  was  appointed.  Each  life  is  taken  up  into 
the  thoughts  and  purposes  of  God.  Between  each 
man  and  all  others  there  is  a  dividing  line  that  is 
deep,  high,  and  broad.  Personality  is  immortal. 
"To  every  man  his  work" — not  your  work,  not 
my  work,  but  Jiis  work — is  God's  law.  Each  man 
must  do  his  own  work,  or  that  work  must  remain 
undone  to  all  eternity.  No  other  man  can  do  it. 
Each  day  has  its  own  duty ;  so  has  each  person 
for  each  day  and  each  hour.  Christ  distinctly 
said,  "  I  must  work  the  works  of  him  that  sent 
me,  while  it  is  day  ;  the  night  cometh,  when  no 
man  can  work."  As  there  is  a  special  work  for 
each  man,  so  there  is  a  special  time  in  which 
that  work  must  be  done,  and  when  that  special 
time  has  passed  the  work  cannot  be  done.  Per- 
mit me  to  specify  some  of  those  whose  allotted 
task  is  easily  understood  by  us  all. 

I .  To  the  pastor  God  gives  his  work.  God  has 
called  him  to  an  exalted  sphere  of  service.  No 
sphere  is  higher ;  no  labor  is  nobler.  Angels 
would  feel  honored  in  being  permitted  to  preach 
the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God.     Gabriel 

91 


92  THE    ALLOTTED    TASK 

would  willingly  come  to  any  pulpit  in  this  city,  did 
God  so  command  or  permit.  The  Apostle  Paul 
magnified  his  office.  Every  true  pastor  may  and 
ought  to  be  in  this  form  of  apostolic  succession. 
While  we  are  not  unduly  to  exalt  the  work  of  the 
ministry,  we  may  truthfully  say,  that  no  other 
work  gives  greater  joy  to  the  worker,  or  greater 
glory  to  God.  The  true  pastor  is  not  to  be  simply 
a  man  of  society ;  he  is  not  to  be  simply  a  man 
of  affairs.  He  is  in  the  world  and  has  to  do  with 
its  various  obligations  as  a  Christian  citizen.  These 
obligations  he  dare  not  neglect  without  being  dis- 
loyal to  his  country,  his  church,  and  his  God.  But 
all  the  while  he  must  realize  that  he  is  above  the 
world,  while  he  is  in  it  and  is  discharging  its  obliga- 
tions. 

The  true  pastor  is  not  to  be  simply  a  great 
scholar.  A  scholar  he  must  be,  if  he  is  a  loyal 
pupil  in  the  school  of  Christ ;  but  whatever  scholar- 
ship he  possesses  he  holds  in  trust  for  the  greater 
honor  of  Christ  and  the  better  service  of  men. 
His  scholarship  is  to  be  sanctified  to  the  honor  of 
his  Lord  and  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  men. 
Everything  that  he  has  and  does  must  be  held  and 
done  under  the  inspiration  of  the  constraining  love 
of  Christ,  and  for  the  salvation  of  the  lost.  He 
preaches  not  himself,  but  his  Lord  ;  he  seeks  not 
men's  things,  but  their  souls.  He  is  to  strive  to 
build  them  up  into  the  likeness  of  his  Lord  and 
Master,  and  to  present  them  at  the  last  without 
spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing,  in  the  presence 


THE    ALLOTTED    TASK  93 

of  God  and  to  the  glory  of  Christ.  Beautiful  as 
were  the  cups  which  the  Spanish  artist  placed  in 
his  painting  of  the  Last  Supper,  they  became  an 
object  of  disfigurement  when  they  diverted  the 
attention  of  the  spectator  from  the  Lord  himself. 
Then  the  cups  were  no  longer  ornamental  but 
detrimental.  The  artist  was  right  when  he  seized 
his  brush  and  blotted  these  cups  from  the  canvas, 
that  the  figure  of  Christ  might  be  the  only  object 
of  attraction.  Quaintly  and  rightly  has  it  been 
said  that  Christ  "  must  be  the  diamond  to  shine  on 
the  bosom  of  all  our  sermons." 

2.  God  gives  to  the  professional  scholar  his  per- 
so7ial  work.  The  true  scholar  loves  and  seeks  for 
truth.  He  is  truth's  willing  and  joyous  slave.  He 
welcomes  truth  from  whatever  quarter  it  comes  and 
by  whatsoever  messenger  it  is  brought.  Truth  is 
the  daughter  of  God,  and  the  prophetess  of  all  true 
progress  in  the  world.  Never  is  man  so  great  and 
so  free  as  when  he  bows  in  lowly  reverence  at  the 
feet  of  Jesus  Christ  who  is  king  in  the  vast  realm 
of  truth.  Nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  in 
the  end  truth  shall  prevail  over  every  form  of  evil 
and  error.  Truth  is  a  great  stronghold  erected 
and  fortified  by  God,  and  no  enemy  shall  be  able 
long  to  hold  it.  Scholarship  is  always  a  power.  It 
may  indeed  sometimes  be  a  power  for  evil  rather 
than  for  good  ;  but  we  must  strive  constantly  to 
make  scholarship  the  handmaid  of  truth  and  so 
the  servant  of  God.  Sanctified  scholarship  is  an 
inestimable  power  for  God  among  men.     All  the 


94  THE    ALLOTTED    TASK 

discoveries  of  modern  science  are  making  it  easier 
than  ever  before  to  believe  in  God.  We  ought 
never  to  speak  of  science  as  opposed  to  revelation. 
Science  is  a  part  of  revelation.  God's  testimonies 
in  his  great  book  of  nature  can  never  contradict 
his  testimonies  in  his  greater  book  of  revelation,  if 
only  we  rightly  understand  the  testimonies  in  both 
books.  Our  interpretations  may  be  in  conflict ; 
but  God's  revelations  must  ever  be  in  sweetest 
harmony.  If  a  man  can  write  in  Paris  and  his 
writing  be  instantly  reproduced  in  London,  three 
hundred  and  twelve  miles  away ;  if  a  man  can 
talk  in  New  York  and  his  words  be  instantly  heard 
in  Chicago,  in  round  numbers  one  thousand  miles 
away,  who  will  dare  say  that  a  man  cannot  write 
or  speak  on  the  earth  so  that  the  great  God  shall 
see  the  written  and  hear  the  spoken  words .-'  If 
man  can  answer  man  one  thousand  miles  away 
without  the  violation  of  any  law  of  nature,  but  in 
harmony  with  laws  of  nature  which  until  recently 
we  did  not  know,  who  will  dare  say  that  we  cannot 
talk  to  God  and  God  to  us  without  the  violation  of 
laws  of  nature,  but  simply  in  harmony  with  higher 
laws,  whose  full  operation  we  do  not  yet  under- 
stand .-•  All  true  scholarship  will  yet  lay  its  honors 
at  the  pierced  feet  of  Jesus  Christ.  Science  and 
revelation  will  yet  march  joyously  in  step  to  the 
music  of  Christ's  name  and  shall  yet  cast  their 
crowns  before  him  as  Lord  and  Master. 

An  educated  man  is  higher  than  an  uneducated 
man.     He   reaches   up   to   difficult    truths,   takes 


THE    ALLOTTED    TASK  95 

them  down,  simplifies  them  and  places  them  be- 
fore weaker  minds.  It  is  his  business  to  simplify 
not  to  mystify  truth.  He  is  only  a  half-educated 
man  who  cannot  talk  to  plain  people.  The  thor- 
oughly educated  man  has  so  mastered  difficult 
truths  that  he  can  take  them  out  of  their  technical 
terminology  and  give  them  in  simplest  forms  to 
plainest  minds.  Some  men  get  a  reputation  for 
being  profound  when  they  are  only  muddy.  You 
can  look  twenty  feet  into  clear  water,  but  you  can- 
not look  one  quarter  of  an  inch  into  mud.  To 
professional  scholars  the  cause  of  truth  is  greatly 
indebted.  At  times  churchmen  have  made  utter 
mistakes  in  manifesting  tendencies  in  opposition 
to  true  scholarship.  Our  opposition  is  directed 
rightly  against  science  falsely  so  called  ;  but  against 
a  true  science  no  true  Christianity  can  ever  object. 
Some  evangelists  and  other  good  Christians  say, 
"Let  us  study  simply  the  English  Bible."  They 
talk  against  the  use  of  commentaries  and  scientific 
theological  study ;  but  such  men  know  not  whereof 
they  speak.  They  are  indebted  to  the  broad  bibli- 
cal scholarship,  which  they  attempt  to  belittle,  for 
the"  partial  biblical  learning  which  they  possess. 
There  would  have  been  no  English  Bible  for  us 
'but  for  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  scholarship  of 
earlier  days.  We  need  expert  and  scientific,  but 
always  consecrated,  knowledge  in  every  depart- 
ment of  inquiry.  To  the  professional  scholar 
along  every  line  my  text  applies — "  To  every  man 
his  work." 


96  THE    ALLOTTED    TASK 

3.  The  teacher  also  has  his  special  work.  I  in-  ' 
elude  the  teacher  in  our  secular  as  well  as  in  our 
Sunday-schools.  The  teachers  in  our  public  schools 
occupy  an  important  and  responsible  position. 
Too  seldom  do  we  think  of  them  with  sympathy 
and  appreciation ;  too  seldom  do  we  pray  for  them 
with  intelligence  and  earnestness.  In  a  city  like 
New  York  the  public  school  is  a  mighty  power. 
Thousands  of  children  are  receiving  in  our  public 
schools  to-day  their  preparation  for  life.  Into  the 
formation  of  their  characters  the  teaching  and 
even  the  atmosphere  of  the  public  school  largely 
enter.  I  rightly  say  atmosphere,  for  that  word  is 
suggestive  of  important  truths.  Very  much  de- 
pends on  the  atmosphere  which  a  teacher  creates. 
It  is  possible  to  read  the  Bible  and  to  offer  prayers 
in  our  public  schools  without  producing  much,  if 
any,  religious  impression.  The  reading  and  the 
praying  may  be  in  a  cold,  mechanical,  and  utterly 
perfunctory  spirit ;  but  some  teachers,  even  though 
they  never  read  or  pray,  may  yet  put  the  spirit  of 
Christ  into  their  instruction,  even  though  they 
be  teachers  of  mathematics,  and  other  seemingly 
purely  secular  studies.  All  scientific  studies  ought 
to  be  conducted  as  revelations  of  the  thoughts  of 
God.  Taught  in  this  spirit,  angles  and  triangles, 
sines  and  cosines,  are  parts  of  a  divine  revelation ; 
taught  in  this  spirit  chemical  affinities  and  repul- 
sions are  truly  revelations  of  divine  design  and  of 
spiritual  purpose. 

These  truths  have  a  still  higher  application  to 


THE    ALLOTTED    TASK  97 

the  teachers  in  our  Sunday-schools,  and  in  our  dis- 
tinctively religious  seminaries.  The  Bible  ought 
to  be  a  text-book  in  all  our  schools,  and  it  is  cause 
for  congratulation  and  gratitude  that  it  is  finding 
its  place  in  so  many  of  the  higher  institutions  of 
learning.  It  is  well  that  we  study  Homer,  but 
why  ought  we  not  with  equal  earnestness  to  study 
David  and  Isaiah  ?  It  is  well  that  we  study  Herod- 
otus, but  why  ought  we  not  to  study  Moses,  who 
is  rightly  what  Herodotus  has  wrongly  been  called, 
"  the  father  of  history"  ?  It  is  well  that  we  study 
Sophocles  and  Euripides,  but  why  not  study  Job 
and  his  matchless  personations  and  dramatic 
scenes  ?  It  is  well  that  we  study  Plato,  but  why 
not  the  Apostle  Paul,  with  his  profound  reasoning, 
his  lofty  argumentation,  and  his  glowing  concep- 
tion of  divine  and  human  life  ?  The  day  will  come 
soon  when  the  Bible,  even  though  it  be  regarded 
chiefly  as  history,  as  poetry,  as  drama,  in  a  word, 
as  literature  of  the  highest  order,  will  have  an 
honored  place  in  all  schools,  seminaries,  and  col- 
leges. All  true  Sunday-school  teachers  are  the 
assistants  of  the  pastor.  They  are  his  yoke-fel- 
lows. They  are  his  coadjutors;  they  are  his  joy- 
ous fellow-laborers  in  the  vineyard  of  the  common 
Lord  and  Master.  To  each  of  these  God  gives 
his  work. 

4.  T/ie  professional  or  business  man  has  his  zuork. 
The  church  to-day  needs  consecrated  labor.  It  is 
often  more  difficult  to  get  competent  Bible-class 
teachers  and  Sunday-school  superintendents  than 


98  THE    ALLOTTED    TASK 


to  find  able  pastors.  We  have  made  too  broad  a 
distinction  between  secular  and  sacred  duties. 
Strictly  speaking,  such  a  distinction  is  imaginary, 
and  not  real.  To  a  true  child  of  God  nothing  in 
his  Father's  universe  is  profane  or  secular.  There 
ought  to  be  no  line  of  cleavage  between  sacred 
and  profane  history.  All  history  is  sacred.  God 
has  never  been  absent  from  his  universe.  His 
hand  is  now  on  its  great  helm.  He  is  as  truly 
present  to-day  in  the  great  affairs  of  all  the  na- 
tions, in  guiding  czars,  kings,  emperors,  and  presi- 
dents, as  he  was  in  the  days  of  Moses,  Joshua, 
David,  or  Solomon.  His  hand  may  have  been 
more  plainly  seen  in  that  early  day  than  now,  but 
it  is  present  now  as  truly  as  it  was  at  that  time. 
We  must  not  think  of  religion  as  belonging  to 
Sundays  and  sanctuaries,  and  business  as  belong- 
ing exclusively  to  weekdays  and  counting  houses. 
The  Apostle  Paul  in  writing  to  the  Romans  clearly 
taught  us  that  we  were  to  be  diligent  in  business, 
and  at  the  same  time  earnest  in  the  service  of  the 
Lord.  We  do  not  put  on  our  religion  like  a  gar- 
ment on  Sunday,  and  then  lay  it  off  when  Sunday 
has  ended.  If  you  cannot  take  your  religion  with 
you  into  your  business,  you  must  have  a  very  bad 
business,  or  a  very  poor  religion,  or  both.  In  a 
true  sense,  every  desk  and  counter  may,  in  its 
place  and  for  its  purpose,  be  as  sacred  as  a  pulpit. 
In  its  place  and  for  its  purpose,  every  family  table 
may  be  in  some  sense  the  Lord's  table.  Our  re- 
ligion is  not  to  be  left  in  the  church  when  our 


THE    ALLOTTED    TASK  99 

prayers  are  offered  and  our  hymns  are  chanted. 
Religion  is  not  a  monk  or  a  nun  to  be  shut  away 
in  a  cloister.  God  wants  men,  not  monks.  Jesus 
prayed  that  his  people  should  not  be  taken  out  of 
the  world,  but  simply  that  they  should  be  kept 
from  the  evil.  The  world  would  be  a  sad  place  if 
God's  people  were  all  taken  from  it  ;  it  would  go 
to  destruction  utterly  within  a  month.  Real  estate 
was  not  worth  much  in  Sodom  or  Gomorrah  when 
God  held  over  it  the  cloud  charged  with  fire  and 
brimstone.  Religion  is  a  beautiful  daughter,  a 
noble  wife,  a  consecrated  mother.  As  such  she 
walks  out  among  men,  causing  the  flowers  of 
beauty,  of  innocence,  and  of  fragrance  to  blossom 
wherever  she  sheds  her  influence,  and  causing  the 
flowers  of  bigotry,  immorality,  and  sin  of  every 
kind  to  wither  wherever  she  plants  her  feet.  If 
the  salt  of  the  gospel  is  to  save  the  meat  of  the 
world,  it  will  not  do  to  put  the  salt  and  the  meat 
into  separate  barrels.  The  whole  system  of  mo- 
nasticism  in  its  various  phases  is  unchristian,  is 
evil  and  only  evil,  and  that  continually.  O  busi- 
ness and  professional  men,  I  summon  you  to-day 
to  consecrate  all  your  professional  powers,  all  your 
business  achievements,  all  your  social  relations,  to 
the  service  of  him  who  has  died  for  you,  and  who 
lives  to  crown  you  as  his  victorious  followers  here 
and  forever  hereafter. 

5.  To  the  workiiigmaft  and  domestic  servant 
Christ  says — "  To  every  one  his  work.''  God  gives 
appropriate  duties  to  men  of  every  class  and  con- 


lOO  THE    ALLOTTED    TASK 

dition.  The  usual  social  distinctions  are  not  to  be 
observed  in  the  house  of  God.  At  God's  altar 
none  are  rich,  none  are  poor,  none  are  high,  none 
are  low.  All  there  are  on  the  same  level  of  un- 
worthiness  in  themselves,  and  of  blessedness  in 
their  divine  Redeemer.  The  workingman  has  be- 
come a  tremendous  power  in  Great  Britain,  in  the 
United  States,  and  throughout  the  world,  during 
the  closing  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
We  have  unduly  limited  the  term  workingman. 
Men  who  work  with  their  brain  and  pen  are  as 
truly  workingmen  as  those  who  work  with  pick  or 
shovel,  with  hammer  or  plane,  with  axe  or  adze. 
In  this  sense,  as  in  other  senses,  Jesus  Christ  was 
a  workingman.  He  stood  at  the  carpenter's  bench 
and  toiled  through  the  long  hours.  The  sweat 
beads  of  honest  toil  were  on  his  brow  and  the 
hardness  of  manly  toil  was  on  his  hands.  Work- 
ingmen commit  the  greatest  conceivable  mistake 
when  they  turn  away  from  Jesus  Christ.  He  was 
their  best  friend  ;  he  is  their  best  friend  still.  He 
sympathizes  with  every  true  workingman  and 
workingwoman.  He  reaches  out  to  them  the  hand 
of  tenderness  and  offers  them  the  heart  of  affec- 
tion. He  will  be  to  them  as  the  shadow  of  a 
great  rock  in  a  weary  land  and  under  a  burning 
sun.  He  promi-ses  them  food  and  raiment.  Mar- 
velous is  the  thought  that  Jesus  Christ  was  poor 
and  friendless.  He  said  with  an  infinite  tender- 
ness that,  "  Foxes  have  holes,  and  birds  of  the  air 
have  nests ;  but  the  Son  of  Man  hath  not  where 


THE    ALLOTTED    TASK  lOI 

to  lay  his  head."  Christ  would  have  lost  much 
of  his  power  over  men  if  he  had  come  into  the 
world  rich.  He  was  the  only  man  born  into  this 
world  who  had  his  choice  as  to  how  he  should 
come.  He  might  have  come  as  a  full-grown  man, 
as  did  the  first  Adam.  He  chose  to  come  as  a 
babe.  He  might  have  come  with  kingly  power 
and  imperial  splendor ;  he  chose  to  come  in  lowly 
poverty.  No  poor  man  to-day  is  so  poor  as  was 
Jesus  Christ ;  no  lonely  man  so  friendless  as  was 
he.  He  was  despised  and  rejected  of  men.  He 
was  a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief. 
His  reference  to  the  baking  of  bread  and  the 
mending  of  clothing  gives  us  a  glimpse  into  his 
lowly  home  and  the  employments  of  his  mother  in 
Nazareth.  Think  of  the  thousands  of  toiling, 
struggling  women  with  their  cares  as  wives  and 
mothers  in  our  great  city.  Jesus  stands  near  to 
help  each  one.  Think  of  the  thousands  of  do- 
mestic servants  with  their  manifold  and  monot- 
onous duties.  Jesus  stands  near  to  each,  assuring 
all  that  those  who  are  faithful  in  that  which  is 
least,  are  faithful  also  in  much. 

Think  of  the  thousands  of  young  women  as 
stenographers,  typewritists,  and  accountants.  Jesus 
comes  near  to  each  saying  to  them,  with  reference 
to  their  duty,  "not  with  eye-service,  as  men 
pleasers  ;  but  in  singleness  of  heart,  fearing  God." 
There  is  no  duty  that  may  not  be  dignified  and 
glorified,  if  it  is  performed  with  the  right  spirit. 
Lofty  motives  give  lowly  duties  their  true  dignity 


102  THE    ALLOTTED    TASK 

and  glory.  The  distinction  often  made  among 
men  in  these  regards  is  purely  arbitrary.  When 
we  enter  upon  our  work  as  for  God,  and  not  for 
men,  that  work  becomes  radiant  with  heavenly 
beauty  and  prophetic  of  heavenly  glory.  In  our 
humblest  service  the  beautiful  words  of  the  saintly 
George  Herbert  may  have  their  full  realization  : 

A  servant  with  this  clause, 

Makes  drudgery  divine  ; 
Who  sweeps  a  room,  as  for  thy  laws, 

Makes  that  and  the  action  fine. 


THE  COMPREHENSIVE   DESIRE 


Brethren,  my  heart' s  desire  and  prayer  to  God  for  Israel 
is,  that  they  might  be  saved. — Rom.  jo  :  i. 


VII 

THE  Apostle  Paul  was  a  skillful  teacher.  He 
knew  how  to  be  loyal  to  his  divine  Master 
and  yet  be  loving  to  his  Jewish  brethren.  He 
knew  how  to  speak  plain  words,  and  yet  to  love 
with  fervent  desire.  He  could  preach  against  his 
brethren  and  yet  pray  for  his  brethren.  It  was 
possible  for  him  to  speak  the  truth,  and  to  speak 
it,  as  he  himself  exhorts  all  others  to  do,  in  love. 
It  is  a  mark  of  noble  character  to  combine  these 
elements  in  our  addresses  to  our  fellow-men.  The 
apostle  desired  to  win  his  brethren  ;  he  was,  there- 
fore, anxious  in  the  midst  of  the  most  emphatic 
rebukes  to  mingle  evidences  of  the  tenderest  affec- 
tion. He  had  just  spoken  with  apparent  severity 
concerning  his  brethren.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
imagine  any  doctrine  more  offensive  to  them  than 
the  doctrine  he  had  just  propounded.  He  knew 
well  that  they  must  have  regarded  him  as  having 
been  false  to  his  Jewish  training,  and  to  the  com- 
mission which  had  been  entrusted  to  him  at  the 
time  of  his  abandonment  of  Judaism  and  his  con- 
fession of  Christ.  He  was  engaged  under  an  im- 
portant appointment,  because  of  his  special  fitness 
for  the  duty  entrusted  to  him,  at  the  very  time 
that  he  abandoned  the  faith  of  his  fathers.  He 
knew  that  his  own  brethren  must  regard  him  as  an 

los 


I06  THE    COMPREHENSIVE    DESIRE 

apostate.  Since  his  conversion  to  Christianity  he 
had  opposed  the  principles  which  once  he  had 
preached,  and  he  had  rebuked  the  spirit  of  pride 
and  self-righteousness  of  the  Jewish  people.  He 
charged  them  in  effect  with  the  crime  of  crucify- 
ing their  own  Messiah.  He  forsook  all  that  they 
valued  in  the  gorgeous  rites  of  their  temple  and  in 
the  traditional  faith  of  their  fathers.  He  had  gone 
everywhere  preaching  the  gospel  of  Christ.  They 
could  not  doubt  the  sincerity  of  his  new  profes- 
sion, however  bitterly  they  might  oppose  the  doc- 
trine which  he  preached.  It  was  most  important 
that  he  should  not  arouse  their  opposition,  but 
convince  them  by  cool  argument  and  win  them  by 
genuine  affection.  By  nature  he  was  tender  and 
kind  ;  but  in  order  to  be  loyal  to  the  truth  he  must 
rebuke  his  brethren  for  their  opposition  to  Christ, 
and  warn  them  of  the  condemnation  which  their 
unbelief  would  certainly  bring. 

He  was  obliged  to  pour  out  his  heart  in  rebuke, 
but  now  he  could  no  longer  contain  his  fervent  and 
tender  affection.  While  he  muses  the  fire  burns, 
and  at  length  his  loving  heart  bursts  forth  in  the 
text  in  the  expression  of  this  glowing  desire  for  the 
salvation  of  his  brethren.  It  is  most  instructive 
to  watch  the  conflict  of  emotions  as  illustrated  in 
the  text  and  its  context.  No  one  can  read  these 
words  without  feeling  the  throb  of  the  apostle's 
heart  across  the  intervening  continents  and  cen- 
turies. Let  us  examine  the  characteristics  of  this 
desire  as  they  are  given  in  the  text. 


THE    COMPREHENSIVE    DESIRE  I07 

I,  It  is  a  fraternal  desire — "Brethren,  my  heart's 
desire  and  prayer  to  God  for  Israel  is  that  they 
might  be  saved."  The  Apostle  Paul  was  a  cos- 
mopolitan. He  was  also  especially  the  apostle  to 
the  Gentiles,  but  he  always  gave  in  his  preach- 
ing the  first  opportunity  to  the  Jew  to  receive  the 
blessings  of  the  gospel.  He  was  a  Hebrew  of  the 
Hebrews,  and  there  is  much,  as  we  all  know,  in 
blood.  The  Apostle  Paul  loved  his  nation  with 
the  fervor  of  a  true  believer  and  a  genuine  patriot, 
but  he  realized  that  the  Christian  is  the  true  Jew. 
Strictly  speaking,  there  is  no  contradiction  between 
a  true  Judaism  and  Christianity.  It  is  a  false 
Judaism  that  opposes  Christianity  ;  all  true  Jews 
were  waiting  for  the  coming  of  the  Messiah.  The 
Apostle  Paul  might  be  called,  if  I  may  coin  a  word, 
a  Messiahian  ;  but  a  Messiahian  is  simply  a  Chris- 
tian. The  former  word  is  Hebrew,  the  latter  is 
Greek,  and  both  mean  precisely  the  same  thing. 
The  true  Jews  are  Messiahians  ;  and,  if  they  but 
knew  it,  in  so  affirming  they  affirm  also  that  they 
are  Christians.  The  Apostle  Paul  longed  for  the 
coming  of  the  Christ  ;  he  glorified  in  the  hope  of 
the  Messiah  ;  and  he  never  meant  to  be  disloyal 
to  that  hope.  He  opposed  Jesus  of  Nazareth  be- 
cause he  did  not  understand  him  to  be  the  Messiah 
of  God ;  but  when  stricken  down  under  the  blind- 
ing light  on  the  Damascus  highway,  he  learned  in 
answer  to  his  question,  "  Who  art  thou.  Lord } " 
that  the  Lord  whom  he  persecuted  was  Jesus,  and 
he  gave  him  immediate  submission  and  reverence. 


I08  THE    COMPREHENSIVE    DESIRE 

Judaism  is  the  root ;  Christianity  is  the  flower 
and  the  fruit.  Judaism  is  simply  undeveloped 
Christianity.  Judaism  is  the  gray  dawn  of  the 
morning ;  Christianity  is  the  splendor  of  noonday. 
True  Judaism  must  pass  on  into  acknowledged 
Christianity.  Judaism  is  the  childhood  of  faith  ; 
Christianity  is  its  manhood.  When  the  Apostle 
Paul  became  a  Christian  he  realized  the  hope  to- 
ward which  he  had  always  been  striving.  He  now 
longs  for  the  conversion  of  his  brethren.  He  who 
has  come  into  the  true  light  cannot  be  satisfied  to 
have  his  brethren  remain  in  darkness.  Perhaps 
the  insertion  of  the  word  **  Israel "  in  the  text  is 
not  warranted  by  the  most  authoritative  manu- 
scripts ;  but  the  fraternity  of  the  apostle's  desire  is 
fully  emphasized  in  his  use  of  the  word  brctJiren, 
with  which  the  text  begins.  There  is  a  sanctified 
patriotism  ;  and  to  that  patriotism  we  have  a  right 
to  appeal  in  urging  the  claims  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ.  The  apostle  in  making  this  affectionate 
appeal  to  his  brethren,  wishes  to  destroy  any  un- 
favorable impression  which  his  plain  words  might 
have  produced.  He  felt  himself  to  be  fully  under 
the  power  of  national  feeling  and  of  Christian  affec- 
tion. This  is  a  sentiment  which  all  true  manhood 
appreciates  and  desires  to  possess  and  to  manifest. 
We  may  well  appeal  in  our  Home  Mission  work 
to  a  genuine  American  patriotism  as  an  incentive 
to  aggressive  Christian  endeavor.  "  North  Amer- 
ica for  Christ,"  is  a  noble  motto.  We  must  use 
every  right  endeavor  to  make  this  motto  a  literal 


THE    COMPREHENSIVE    DESIRE  lOQ 

truth  in  our  mission  work.  The  flag  of  our  country 
and  the  banner  of  our  Lord  ought  ever  to  blend 
in  sweetest  and  sublimest  union.  Our  kith  after 
the  flesh  we  ought  to  strive  to  make  our  kin  in 
Christian  faith. 

2.  TJie  apostle  s  desire  as  expressed  in  the  text 
is  also  a  cordial  desire — "Brethren,  my  Jiearf s 
desire."  The  apostle's  desire  came  from  his 
heart ;  it  was,  therefore,  honest,  earnest,  and  sin- 
cere. The  word  translated  "desire"  really  means 
good-will  or  benevolence  ;  it  is  benevolence  pass- 
ing over  into  beneficence.  This  earnest  desire 
gives  us  the  apostle's  motive  in  so  addressing  his 
brethren  and  in  laboring  for  their  salvation.  Not 
all  who  are  interested  in  the  salvation  of  men  are 
influenced  by  this  high  motive.  There  may  be 
simply  a  professional  desire  for  the  conversion  of 
those  about  us.  Doubtless  there  are  times  when 
Sunday-school  teachers,  evangelists,  pastors,  and 
others,  are  largely  influenced  by  what  may  be  called 
a  professional  desire  to  secure  and  to  report  a  large 
number  of  conversions.  One  does  not  wish  to 
pass  harsh  judgment  on  his  fellow-men,  but  one 
can  readily  see  that  they  may  at  times  be  influ- 
enced, even  when  engaged  in  the  highest  work,  by 
personal  and  professional  motives.  The  quality  of 
our  work  must  depend  largely  upon  the  motive 
which  governs  our  acts  and  aims.  We  must  strive 
to  perform  our  best  services  under  the  influence 
of  the  highest  motives.  Against  this  professional 
danger  we  must  constantly  strive.     The  Apostle 


IIO  THE    COMPREHENSIVE    DESIRE 

Paul  rose  far  above  any  personal  advantage  or  pro- 
fessional ambition  when  he  poured  out  his  heart 
in  the  affectionate  words  of  the  text.  Out  of  his 
heart's  desire  his  pen  wrote  in  this  letter  to  the 
Romans.  It  is  because  his  words  came  from  the 
heart  that  after  the  lapse  of  these  centuries  they 
still  reach  the  hearts  of  his  readers.  Heart  ever- 
more responds  to  heart.  All  Christian  workers 
must  be  right  in  their  hearts  with  God,  and  they 
will  not  be  wrong  in  their  efforts  with  men. 

There  may  be,  also,  simply  a  duteous  desire  for 
the  conversion  of  men.  This  desire  may  spring 
from  a  higher  motive  than  that  of  professional  am- 
bition. It  is  the  duty  of  those  who  are  teachers 
and  preachers  to  seek  for  appropriate  fruits  in 
their  Christian  labors.  They  cannot  be  indifferent 
to  results — such  indifference  would  be  culpable  in 
the  extreme.  The  duteous  act  is  performed  under 
the  realization  of  what  is  due,  of  what  the  position 
properly  requires;  it  is  that  which  is  enjoined  by 
duty  or  by  the  position  which  one  may  occupy.  It 
is  better  that  one  should  desire  the  conversion  of 
men  from  this  motive  than  be  indifferent  to  their 
spiritual  welfare,  but  it  is  a  great  gain  when  we 
pass  over  from  that  which  duty  requires,  in  the  mere 
legal  sense  of  the  term,  to  the  joy  in  service  which 
love  always  secures.  I  do  not  wish,  however,  to 
make  light  of  the  importance  of  performing  our 
duty  irrespective  of  results.  We  must  ever  remem- 
ber that  duties  are  ours,  events  are  God's.  We 
have  too  often  in  the  Christian  life  been  governed 


THE    COMPREHENSIVE    DESIRE  I  I  I 

simply  by  feeling,  by  emotion,  by  impulse.  We 
never  read  in  Scripture  that  men  are  saved  by 
feeling;  we  always  read  that  they  are  saved  by 
faith.  One  cannot  help  wishing  at  times  that  the 
word  "feeling"  were  stricken  out  of  our  religious 
vocabulary.  Many  neglect  all  forms  of  religious 
duty  because  they  are  governed  by  feeling  rather 
than  by  the  higher  law  of  obedience  to  Christ,  no 
matter  what  their  feelings  are.  If  right  feeling 
comes  we  may  welcome  it,  but  in  any  case  we 
must  move  forward  in  the  faithful  performance  of 
our  duty.  If  duty  be  faithfully  done,  right  feel- 
ing will  not  long  be  wanting ;  but  blessed  are  they 
who  rise  above  the  consciousness  of  performing 
duty  for  duty's  sake  and  who  know  that  they  are 
constrained  by  Christian  love. 

There  may  also  be  a  mere  intellectual  desire 
for  the  conversion  of  our  brethren.  The  intellect 
of  the  Apostle  Paul  was  active  as  the  intellect  of 
few  men  ever  has  been  ;  but  his  intellectual  activi- 
ties were  sweetly  submissive  to  the  constraining 
love  of  Christ.  When  the  light  flashed  upon  him 
on  his  way  to  Damascus,  new  meaning  was  given 
to  all  his  previous  reasoning.  He  saw,  as  never 
before,  the  meaning  of  the  Old  Testament  in  its 
prophecies  concerning  the  Christ ;  he  saw  that  all 
the  ways  of  God's  revelation  converged  toward 
the  cross  of  Christ.  He  realized  that  if  you  take 
away  the  cross  the  Old  Testament  is  largely  mean- 
ingless ;  he  saw  that  the  cross  of  Calvary  is  the 
center  of   the   Bible;    he  realized  that   it   is  the 


112  THE    COMPREHENSIVE    DESIRE 

pivotal  point  around  which  all  the  events  of  the 
world's  history  revolve.  As  a  student  of  secular 
history  as  truly  as  of  sacred  story,  he  saw  that  he 
must  build  his  study  on  Calvary.  Christianity 
quickened,  directed,  and  ennobled  all  his  intellect- 
ual activities.  He  was  truly  the  apostle  of  logic  ; 
he  was  equally  the  apostle  of  love.  He  wrote 
under  divine  inspiration  the  masterpieces  of  logical 
reasoning  which  are  found  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans ;  but  it  was  he  also,  under  divine  inspira- 
tion, who  wrote  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  first  Cor- 
inthians, which  has  been  finely  called  "The  New 
Testament  Psalm  of  Love."  Doubtless  from  a 
purely  intellectual  point  of  view  the  apostle  de- 
sired to  convince  others,  as  he  had  himself  been 
convinced,  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ;  but  the  de- 
sire of  his  heart,  as  expressed  in  the  text,  rose  far 
above  a  mere  intellectual  victory.  He  was  under 
the  influence  of  the  gentle  and  yet  mighty  love  of 
Christ.  This  pure  and  heavenly  desire  gave  his 
words  almost  irresistible  power.  This  desire  gives 
us  similar  power  to-day.  Love  has  a  logic  of  its 
own ;  love  has  a  brogue  that  never  can  be  imitated 
by  unloving  hearts.  Love  evokes  love.  The 
writer  of  poetry  and  of  music  must  write  with  the 
heart  if  the  highest  results  are  to  be  secured. 

The  same  law  applies  to  art  of  every  sort ;  if 
the  heart  is  wanting,  power  is  wanting.  More 
men  are  reached  through  the  heart  than  through 
the  head.  Many  men  put  their  hearts  into  the 
tone  of  the  voice,  into  the  glance  of  the  eye,  and 


THE    COMPREHENSIVE    DESIRE  II3 

into  the  grasp  of  the  hand.  Men  can  resist  the 
pulpit's  attacks  upon  their  heads  when  the  attack 
is  made  simply  by  the  arguments  of  cold  logic; 
but  men  cannot  long  resist  the  appeals  made  to 
their  hearts  when  these  appeals  come  from  hearts 
tender  with  human  sympathy  and  glowing  with 
divine  love.  The  heart  is  really  wiser  than  the 
head ;  the  heart  may  see  far  while  the  head  is 
totally  blind.  Affection  is  mightier  than  reason. 
The  pulpit  needs  loving  hearts  more  truly  than  it 
needs  clear  heads.  In  so  saying  I  do  not  at  all 
depreciate  the  value  of  the  clearest  thinking  in 
religious  instruction ;  but  the  thinking  that  leaves 
out  tender  love  is  not  really  clear  thinking.  There 
may  be  an  intellectual  power  that  is  as  beautiful 
as  the  frost  on  a  window  pane,  but  it  may  at  the 
same  time  be  as  cold  as  it  is  beautiful.  The 
apostle  harmoniously  combined  clearness  of  thought 
with  tenderness  of  feeling;  it  was  this  happy 
union  that  gave  his  spoken  and  written  words 
much  of  their  blessed  power  to  win  men  to  truth 
and  to  God. 

3.  TJic  apostle  s  desire  as  expressed  in  the  text 
ivas  also  a  prayerful  desire — "Brethren,  my  heart's 
desire  and /mj/^r. "  True  desire  for  the  conver- 
sion of  men  must  ever  express  itself  in  prayer  as 
in  effort.  The  heart  that  goes  out  to  men  for 
God  must  go  up  to  God  for  men.  It  is  possible 
for  the  heart  to  cherish  desires  which  it  does  not 
utter  in  prayer ;  but  where  the  heart  overflows 
with  religious  desires  the  lips  will  address  the  Al- 

H 


114  THE    COMPREHENSIVE    DESIRE 

mighty  in  appropriate  petitions.  True  prayer 
must  come  from  warm  hearts;  cold  hearts  seldom 
pray,  and  seldomer  pray  aright.  Sometimes  the 
shortest  way  to  reach  men's  hearts  is  by  way  of 
God's  throne.  When  Paul  and  Silas  were  in  the 
prison  at  Philippi,  we  are  told  that  they  "sang 
praises  unto  God  ;  and  the  prisoners  heard  them  "  ; 
literally  the  words  mean  that  "praying,  they 
hymned  God."  Perhaps  they  could  not  directly 
have  addressed  their  fellow-prisoners,  but  they 
prayed  while  singing  a  hymn  to  God,  and  the  voice 
of  prayer  and  praise  ascended  to  God  and  de- 
scended upon  men.  We  could  oftener  mightily 
move  men  if  we  were  mightly  moved  toward  God 
on  their  behalf.  We  are  greatly  instructed  in  our 
efforts  for  the  conversion  of  men  by  the  union  of 
effort  and  of  prayer  so  beautifully  given  in  the 
text,  to  secure  that  result.  The  apostle  could  not 
be  satisfied  with  simply  cherishing  a  desire  for  the 
conversion  of  his  brethren ;  that  desire  he  ex- 
presses in  prayer  to  God  himself,  and  also  in  writ- 
ing to  the  brethren.  He  tells  them  of  his  desire 
and  of  his  prayer  to  God  on  their  behalf.  The 
mere  telling  them  of  this  prayerful  desire  would 
have  its  influence  in  securing  their  submission  to 
Christ,  and  so  in  answering  the  prayer  which  he 
had  already  offered.  He  had  no  pleasure  in  de- 
claring the  severe  truths  which  he  had  just  an- 
nounced, but  the  announcement  was  made  not  in 
anger  but  in  love ;  he  baptized  his  warnings  in 
heartfelt  prayer.     This  union  of  prayer  and  preach- 


THE    COMPREHENSIVE    DESIRE  II5 

ing  is  an  example  for  all  Christian  workers  to  this 
hour.  We  cannot  afford  to  dispense  with  any 
elements  of  power  which  the  apostle  manifested, 
and  which  God  may  permit  us  to  possess  and  to 
employ.  There  should  be  definiteness  in  our  de- 
sires as  we  approach  God  in  prayer,  and  equal 
definiteness  in  our  purpose  as  we  approach  men  to 
win  them  to  Jesus  Christ.  The  moment  our 
hearts  go  out  in  true  desire  for  the  conversion  of 
our  fellow-men,  that  moment  in  conscious  weak- 
ness our  hearts  will  go  up  to  God  that  his  Spirit 
may  apply  the  truths  we  utter  and  bless  the 
efforts  we  make.  We  thank  God  and  the  noble 
apostle  for  this  illustration  of  the  union  of  human 
effort  and  divine  power  in  Christian  labor. 

4.  We  notice  also  that  this  zvas  an  evangelical 
desire  on  the  part  of  the  Apostle  Paul — "  That 
they  might  be  saved."  What  is  the  apostle's 
thought  in  the  expression  of  this  desire  .'  Does  he 
mean  simply  to  labor  and  to  pray  that  his  kindred 
may  be  saved  from  temporal  disaster .''  Doubtless 
their  temporal  welfare  was  dear  to  his  manly  and 
loving  heart ;  but  it  is  quite  certain  that  he  does 
not  limit  his  desire  to  their  salvation  from  temporal 
or  national  disaster.  He  may  have  known  by  di- 
vine intuition,  or  by  careful  study  of  national  ten- 
dencies, and  by  the  position  of  the  people  in  rela- 
tion to  other  nations,  that  temporal  disaster  was 
soon  to  come.  As  a  true  patriot  he  undoubtedly 
desired  to  save  his  brethren  from  national  ruin  ; 
but  he  means  much  more  in  this  prayerful  desire 


Il6  THE    COMPREHENSIVE    DESIRE 

than  preservation  from  national  destruction  or  any 
form  of  earthly  sorrow.  He  prays  and  labors  that 
they  may  be  saved  with  an  eternal  salvation  ;  he 
desires  that  they  may  be  convicted  of  sin  and  con- 
verted to  God.  He  could  not  consistently  pray 
that  they  might  be  saved  so  long  as  they  remained 
in  unbelief.  If  their  eternal  salvation  were  secured 
they  could  better  endure  the  temporal  calamities 
which  were  certainly  soon  to  come.  Nothing  short 
of  their  redemption  from  sin  here  and  from  death 
forever  hereafter,  could  satisfy  the  apostle's  desire  ; 
nothing  less  than  this  ought  to  satisfy  our  desires 
as  Christian  men  and  women  in  our  relation  to  our 
fellow-men.  The  example  of  the  apostle  is  help- 
ful to  us  as  parents  and  as  patriots  ;  he  recognizes 
the  ties  of  blood  and  of  nationality  ;  so  ought  we. 
Are  we  ourselves  saved  .-'  Have  we  a  good  hope 
through  faith  in  Christ .''  Have  we  passed  from  death 
unto  life .''  Are  our  names  written  in  the  Lamb's 
book  of  life .-'  If  so,  we  ought  then  most  ear- 
nestly to  desire  the  salvation  of  our  kindred,  espe- 
cially our  own  flesh  and  blood  in  the  tenderest  rela- 
tions of  family  life.  Can  we  be  indifferent  to  the 
welfare  of  our  children,  both  for  this  world  and  for 
that  which  is  to  come .-' 

I  appeal  to  you,  teachers,  on  behalf  of  the  chil- 
dren committed  to  your  care  in  our  Sunday-schools. 
Have  you  a  fraternal  and  cordial  and  prayerful 
desire  for  their  salvation  .''  Such  a  desire  did  the 
Apostle  Paul  cherish  toward  his  kinsmen,  his 
brethren  in  the  flesh.      Have  we  who  are  preach- 


THE    COMPREHENSIVE    DESIRE  11/ 


ers  and  pastors  a  realization  of  our  responsibili- 
ties and  our  opportunities  in  regard  to  those  who 
listen  to  us  as  ambassadors  for  Christ  ?  Wonder- 
ful are  the  words  of  this  same  glorious  and  peer- 
less apostle  when  he  said  :  "  Now  then  we  are  am- 
bassadors for  Christ,  as  though  God  did  beseech 
you  by  us  :  we  pray  you  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye 
reconciled  to  God.  For  he  hath  made  him  to  be 
sin  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin  ;  that  we  might  be 
made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him."  He  here 
puts  himself,  and  other  ambassadors  for  Christ,  in 
Christ's  stead  before  men,  to  beseech  them  to  be 
reconciled  to  God.  He  here  rebukes  our  coldness, 
softens  our  hardness,  and  quickens  our  deadness 
in  Christian  life  and  love.  Oh,  that  to-day  we 
might  catch  the  spirit  of  his  affectionate  heart  and 
his  prayerful  desire  !  Oh,  that  I  might  now  be 
able  so  to  beseech  you  who  are  still  strangers  to 
Jesus  Christ  as  a  personal  Saviour  that  just  now 
you  might  submit  your  hearts  in  loving  obedience 
to  him  as  your  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King !  Oh, 
men  and  women  who  have  known  the  love  of 
Christ,  make  the  apostle's  example  in  this  text 
your  own.  Cherish  with  all  your  souls  this  glow- 
ing desire  of  his  heart  which  found  expression  in 
earnest  prayer  to  God,  and  in  loving  efforts  for  the 
eternal  salvation  of  his  brethren  after  the  flesh. 
May  God  give  us  all  such  a  conception  of  Christ 
and  of  salvation  that  we  shall,  as  the  apostle  else- 
where did,  beseech  men  night  and  day,  with  tears, 
that  they  may  be  reconciled  unto  God. 


THE  MANIFOLD  KEEPING 


Keep  me  as  the  apple  of  the  eye. — Ps.  ly :  8. 


VIII 

THIS  psalm  is  appropriately  entitled,  "  A 
Prayer  of  David."  The  psalm  is  really  a 
prayer;  its  distinctive  characteristic  throughout  is 
petition.  The  servant  of  God  who  offers  the 
prayer  was  conscious  of  his  uprightness,  and  also  of 
the  danger  to  which  he  was  exposed.  We  do  not 
know  on  what  historical  occasion  this  prayer  was 
offered,  but  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  petitioner 
realized  that  he  was  surrounded  by  enemies. 
David's  life  abounded  in  occasions  when  such  a 
prayer  might  fittingly  be  offered.  He  was  so 
often  beset  with  dangers  that  he  might  properly 
with  great  frequency  pour  out  his  heart  to  God  in 
the  language  of  this  psalm.  On  the  special  occa- 
sion giving  rise  to  it,  his  enemies  were  numerous, 
bitter,  and  deadly;  they  were  as  fierce  and  greedy 
as  the  lion  hunting  its  prey.  They  were  also  men 
of  wealth,  and  men  who  sought  only  the  supposed 
good  things  of  this  world;  but  the  petitioner's 
thoughts  rose  far  above  these  considerations.  He 
declares  in  the  closing  part  of  the  psalm  that 
nothing  short  of  beholding  God's  face  in  righteous- 
ness would  satisfy  the  longings  of  his  aspiring 
soul. 

The  part  of  the  petition  selected  as  the  text  is 
very  tender  and  beautiful.     We  ought  to  have  its 


122  THE    MANIFOLD    KEEPING 

literal  thought  clearly  in  our  minds.  There  is  in 
the  original  a  remarkable  strength  in  the  words 
employed.  The  exact  rendering  of  the  Hebrew 
is,  "Keep  me  as  the  little  man — the  daughter — of 
the  eye."  It  is  readily  seen  that  there  is  here  a 
curious  confusion  of  genders,  but  a  little  familiar- 
ity with  the  Hebrew  idioms  will  clarify  our  con- 
ception of  the  meaning.  The  apple  of  the  eye 
means  the  pupil  of  the  eye,  the  small  opening  in 
the  iris  through  which  the  rays  of  light  pass  to 
the  retina.  The  Hebrew  word  Ishon,  rendered 
apple,  means  "little  man,"  because  in  this  part  of 
the  eye  one  sees  his  own  image  in  greatly  reduced 
proportions ;  and  this  fact  accounts  for  our  word- 
term,  pupil.  The  expression  "daughter  of  the 
eye"  means  that  which  is  dependent  on  or  con- 
nected with  the  eye.  It  is  customary  to  call  a 
small  town  or  village,  when  dependent  on  a  city, 
"the  daughter  of  the  city."  The  prayer,  there- 
fore, is  that  God  would  guard  the  psalmist  as  the 
tenderest  part  of  one's  eye  is  guarded.  The  pupil 
is  the  type  of  that  which  is  most  precious,  and 
most  easily  injured.  The  psalm  is  truly  precious 
to  all  God's  children.  Perhaps  no  part  of  the 
Psalter  has  been  more  often  sung  than  this  psalm 
in  some  one  of  its  many  versions.  When  we  pray 
that  God  will  keep  us  as  the  apple  of  the  eye  it  is 
necessary  for  us  to  know  how  God  does  keep  the 
apple  of  the  eye,  that  we  may  fully  appreciate  the 
prayer  that  we  offer. 

I.    God  keeps  the  apple  of  tJic  eye  constitution- 


THE    MANIFOLD    KEEPING  1 23 

ally ;  and  we  therefore  pray  that  God  may  so  con- 
trol us  in  our  constitutional  qualities  and  desires 
that  through  them  he  may  keep  us  for  his  service 
here  and  for  his  glory  hereafter.  God  as  our 
Creator  has  marvelously  guarded  the  eye.  He 
has  placed  it  in  a  well-protected  position;  not 
more  truly  was  Jerusalem  encircled  by  mountains 
than  is  the  eye  protected  by  appropriate  guards. 
He  has  placed  it  in  a  deep,  bony  socket,  composed 
it  is  said,  of  "seven  different  bones  hollowed  at 
their  edges."  He  has  made  the  forehead  and  the 
cheek  bones  its  ramparts.  He  has  caused  the  eye 
to  rest  within  its  socket  on  a  bed  of  fatty  sub- 
stance the  best  adapted  for  its  repose  as  well  as  its 
motion.  He  has  also  sheltered  it  by  the  eye- 
brows ;  they  are  an  arch  of  hair  forming  a  hedge 
to  prevent  the  moisture  of  the  forehead  from  go- 
ing into  the  eye.  He  has  also  given  it  the  curtain 
of  the  eyelids,  and  protected  it  by  the  brushlike 
eyelashes.  They  sweep  it  clean  from  the  various 
dangerous  substances  which  might  prove  injurious. 
The  eyelid  defends,  wipes,  and  finally  closes  the 
eye  in  sleep.  The  eyelids  are  really  close-fitting 
shutters  to  screen  the  light ;  their  inner  side  is 
lined  with  a  membrane  that  is  exceedingly  sensi- 
tive ;  it  thus  aids  in  protecting  the  eye  from  irri- 
tating substances.  Within  the  lashes  are  oil  glands 
which  lubricate  the  edges  of  the  lids.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  find  any  apparatus  more  appropriate  in 
its  organism  for  its  useful  purpose.  In  order  that 
the  eye  may  be  moist  and  clean,  God  has  supplied 


124  THE    MANIFOLn    KEEPING 

it  with  a  secretion  which  excellently  washes  it 
from  all  foreign  substances.  He  has  also  so  made 
it  that  the  superfluous  brine  is  carried  to  the  nos- 
tril through  a  skillful  perforation  in  the  bone.  The 
ball  itself  is  covered  by  three  coatings.  The  first 
is  a  horny  casing  which  helps  to  give  the  eye  its 
beautiful  shape ;  the  second  is  really  a  black  lining 
which  absorbs  the  superfluous  light ;  the  third  is  a 
membrane  in  which  the  fibers  of  the  optic  nerve 
expand. 

It  would  be  easy  to  go  into  much  fuller  detail 
regarding  the  construction  of  the  eye  as  showing 
divine  wisdom,  and  as  illustrating  the  prayer  of 
the  psalmist,  but  we  catch  his  thought  sufficiently 
for  the  spiritual  lesson  we  desire  to  teach.  We 
ought  earnestly  to  pray  that  our  whole  nature  may 
be  so  constituted  as  to  be  a  guard  against  evil  in 
thought,  in  word,  and  in  act.  Sin  is  a  disturbing 
and  disorganizing  element  in  our  nature.  Our 
natures  ought  to  be  in  perfect  harmony  with  the 
will  of  God,  but  sin  comes  in  as  a  jarring  note  in 
the  melody  of  life.  Our  natures  ought  to  guard 
us  against  evil  in  the  world  about  us,  but  sin 
breaks  down  the  protecting  walls  and  leaves  us 
exposed  to  the  assaults  of  the  enemy.  Most  ear- 
nestly ought  we  to  pray  that  God  would  guard  us 
constitutionally  as  he  has  guarded  the  apple  of  the 
eye.  Reason,  imagination,  desire,  and  duty  are 
often  at  war  with  one  another ;  antagonistic  forces 
disturb  our  mental  repose  and  our  moral  peace. 
Not  until  the  heart  is  brought  into  the  obedience 


THE    MANIFOLD    KEEPING  1 25 

of  Christ  can  the  lost  harmony  be  restored  to  the 
soul ;  not  until  Christ  is  enthroned  in  the  center  of 
our  soul  as  the  organizing  principle  and  the  har- 
monizing influence  can  the  whole  nature  be  brought 
into  peace  with  itself  and  with  God  its  Creator. 
This  prayer  may  appropriately  voice  the  deepest 
desires  of  our  hearts  as  we  come  into  the  presence 
of  God. 

2.  The  psalmisfs  thought  includes  the  prayer  that 
God  zvonld  guaid  us  circumstaiitially  as  well  as 
constitutionally.  There  is  a  marvelous  degree  of 
divine  providence  in  the  construction  of  the  eye, 
and  in  its  remarkable  adaptedness  to  the  various 
circumstances  in  which  it  is  to  perform  its  offices. 
It  is  much  like  a  camera ;  indeed,  the  camera  is  in 
some  sort  an  imitation  of  the  eye.  The  eye 
adapts  itself  with  remarkable  quickness  to  its  new 
conditions.  The  eye  of  the  fish  does  not  have  the 
wash  of  which  we  have  spoken  as  characteristic 
of  the  human  eye,  because  the  element  in  which 
fish  live  supplies  a  constant  lotion  to  their  eyes. 
The  winking  membrane  is  a  striking  illustration  of 
the  adaptation  of  the  eye  to  its  environment. 
It  lies  folded,  but  is  ready  in  a  moment  for  use. 
Two  kinds  of  substances,  muscular  and  elastic, 
are  employed  in  the  necessary  motions  of  winking. 
The  movement  is  so  rapid  that  we  have  come  to 
use  as  a  proverb  the  phrase,  "quick  as  a  wink," 
but  the  process  is  really  somewhat  involved,  and 
is  remarkable  as  showing  the  wisdom  of  the 
Creator    in    the    adaptations  which    the    eye    can 


126  THE    MANIFOLD    KEEPING 

make.  In  the  motion  of  the  eyelash  in  winking 
there  is  a  gentle  flow  of  tears  over  the  eyeball, 
keeping  it  moist  and  clearing  it  of  dust.  When 
danger  is  near  the  optic  nerve  announces  that  fact 
to  the  brain ;  the  brain  then  sends  a  message 
through  some  of  the  motor  nerves  to  the  muscle 
of  the  eyelid,  and  that  muscle  immediately  receives 
the  message  and  instantly  acts  upon  it,  shutting 
down  the  eyelid.  Winking  not  only  protects  the 
eyeball  by  shutting  it  in,  but  by  a  divine  contriv- 
ance it  moves  the  eye  back  a  little  way  in  the 
socket.  At  the  same  time  the  muscles  of  the  eye- 
brow and  of  the  face  below  the  eye  are  drawn 
together,  and  thus  they  make  a  sort  of  cushion 
which  saves  the  bone  from  being  fractured,  even 
though  a  somewhat  heavy  blow  should  fall  upon  it. 
No  one  can  study  the  eye  without  being  profoundly 
impressed  with  the  providential  arrangements  for 
its  protection  and  use.  It  has  been  often  affirmed 
that  the  examination  of  the  eye,  even  though  other 
parts  of  the  body  were  not  under  consideration, 
would  be  a  cure  for  atheism. 

In  offering  the  prayer  of  the  psalmist  we  pray 
that  God  would  enable  us  to  adapt  our  moral 
nature  to  our  environment  as  he  has  adapted  the 
delicate  pupil  to  its  environment.  Circumstances 
may  help  or  hinder  us  in  the  Christian  life.  Cir- 
cumstances may  make  or  mar  men  in  their  earthly 
relations.  Circumstances  alone  do  not  make  men  ; 
if  they  did  there  would  be  more  men  made. 
There  certainly  are  circumstances  enough.     The 


THE    MANIFOLD    KEEPING  12/ 

man  of  genius  is  he  who  masters  even  unfavorable 
circumstances  so  as  to  make  them  conduce  to  his 
earthly  advancement.     The    door  of    opportunity 
will  always  open   at  the   touch   of   the   finger  of 
industry  ;  but  only  the  eye  of  true  genius  sees  the 
opportunity   when    it    is    presented.      So    in    the 
Christian  life  our  environment  may  make  or  mar 
us.     All  depends  upon  our  relation  to  it  and  the 
advantage  we  take  of  it.     In  a  bright  light   the 
iris  expands  so  as  to  make  the  pupil  smaller,  as 
too  much  light  would  give  pain  to  the  nerves  ;  but 
in  the  dark  the  iris  shrinks  and  enlarges  the  pupil 
so  as  to  admit  more  light.     God  by  his  wonderful 
pre-arrangements  thus  enables  the  eye  to  adapt 
itself  to  its  varying  circumstances.     When  irritat- 
ing substances  enter  the  eye  their  presence  gen- 
erates a  fluid  which  struggles  to  wash  them  out  ; 
but  when  this  cannot  be  done  these  and  other  sub- 
stances quickly  strive  to  dissolve  these  irritating 
intruders.     The  prayer  of  this  text  is  that  we  may 
have  equal  wisdom  in  our  moral  relations  to  our 
unfavorable  circumstances  in  life.      Every  man  has 
his  besetting  sin  ;  every  man  has  his  weak  places 
— unless,  indeed,  he  is  weak  all  over.     We  are  to 
guard  ourselves  at  these  exposed  points  ;  we  are  to 
adapt  ourselves  to  our  circumstances,  so  that  we 
shall   use  them  as  helps  to  higher  things  in  the 
Christian  life.      Many  a  man  has  made  his  misfor- 
tune the  means  of  making  his  fortune  ;  many  a 
man  has  developed  power  by  the  adverse  condi- 
tions of  his  life.     What  wind  is  to  the  wings  of  a 


128  THE    MANIFOLD    KEEPING 

bird,  so  misfortune  has  often  been  to  the  wings  of 
manly  courage  and  Christian  faith.  The  boys 
without  a  chance  have  often  risen  to  be  the  men 
of  great  power  and  superb  achievement.  Let  us 
pray  that  God  may  teach  us  to  triumph  over  every 
form  of  adversity,  and  to  turn  evil,  real  and  seem- 
ing, into  the  highest  form  of  good. 

3.  The  psalmist  also  prayed  that  God  zvould 
guard  him  instinctively  when  he  offered  the  prayer, 
"  Keep  me  as  the  apple  of  the  eye."  This  thought 
we  have  somewhat  touched  upon,  but  it  is  worthy 
of  additional  explanation.  God's  children  are 
always  dear  to  him  as  the  apple  of  the  eye  is  to 
us.  He  has  himself  affirmed  that  he  who  touches 
us,  touches  the  apple  of  his  eye.  We  protect  our 
eye  instinctively.  It  is  most  interesting  to  see 
how  constantly  this  is  done.  Going  into  a  dark 
room  where  dangers  might  come  to  the  eye,  our 
hands  go  up  without  a  thought  to  act  as  protectors. 
Just  as  the  lid  comes  down  instinctively  when 
danger  is  near,  so  instinctively  the  hand  goes  up 
for  the  same  cause  and  to  accomplish  the  same 
purpose.  God  has  so  made  us  that  the  telegraph- 
ing of  danger  to  the  brain  and  its  communication 
to  various  portions  of  the  body,  instructing  them 
to  protect  the  eye,  will  all  go  on  instinctively  and 
instantaneously.  The  brain  receives  the  announce- 
ment of  the  danger,  and  immediately  imparts  the 
necessary  instruction  to  the  defenders  of  the  eye, 
without  any  consciousness  on  our  part  of  design- 
ing to  communicate  to  the  brain  or  to  employ  the 


THE    MANIFOLD    KEEPING  I  29 

natural  defenders  of  the  eye.  In  a  similar  way 
our  appreciation  of  spiritual  danger  and  our  use 
of  spiritual  defenses  should  take  place.  A  trained 
conscience  will  often  act  almost  instinctively. 
There  are  men  who  live  so  near  to  God  that  their 
perceptions  of  right  and  wrong  are  extremely 
acute ;  their  consciences  are  as  tender  to  moral 
dangers  as  are  the  pupils  of  their  eye  to  physical 
dangers.  They  are  not  obliged  to  go  through  any 
prolonged  process  of  thought ;  no  involved 
methods  of  casuistry  are  necessary  to  enable  them 
to  distinguish  between  right  and  wrong.  Their 
eye  is  single,  and  as  the  Lord  has  taught  us,  their 
whole  body  is  full  of  light.  There  are  other 
Christians  who  are  afflicted  with  moral  strabismus. 
Physical  strabismus  is  an  affection  of  one  or  both 
eyes,  in  which  the  optic  axes  cannot  be  directed  to 
the  same  object  ;  thus  there  is  squinting,  the 
oblique  or  askance  look,  the  optic  axes  not  being 
coincident  ;  strabismus  also  is  defined  as  a  want 
of  parallelism  in  the  visual  axes.  It  may  be  con- 
vergent or  divergent  ;  it  may  be  single  or  double. 
Its  causes  are  very  numerous. 

Not  otherwise  is  it  with  moral  strabismus. 
There  are  many  short-sighted  and  side-sighted, 
many  squinting,  many  non-coincident  Christians  ; 
their  moral  organs  of  vision  are  often  double 
when  they  ought  always  to  be  single.  Personal 
interests,  selfish  desires,  and  sensuous  delights 
warp  the  vision,  causing  them  to  see  double  and 
sometimes  making  them  entirely  blind  to  duty  and 


130  THE    MANIFOLD    KEEPING 

to  God.  The  whole  delicate  apparatus  of  the 
moral  eye  is  seriously  disturbed  ;  the  eye  loses  its 
sensitiveness ;  foreign  substances  which  ought  to 
irritate  do  not  irritate ;  substances  which  ought 
immediately  to  be  driven  out  are  allowed  to  re- 
main in  the  eye.  There  is  often  in  our  own  eye  a 
great  "beam"  and  of  its  presence  we  are  entirely 
unconscious,  but  somehow  we  are  remarkably  sen- 
sitive to  the  mere  "  mote  "  that  is  in  our  brother's 
eye.  Many  men  are  extremely  anxious  about  their 
brother's  mote,  but  strangely  indifferent  to  their 
own  beam.  It  is  wonderful  what  tricks  we  can 
play  upon  our  moral  nature.  We  can  make  evil 
seem  to  be  good  and  good  evil.  We  are  often 
afflicted  with  a  disease  which  prevents  us  from 
distinguishing  between  moral  colors.  We  see  the 
color  we  wish  to  see ;  we  utterly  refuse  to  see  the 
color  we  are  not  willing  to  see.  No  prayer  can  be 
more  appropriate  than  that  God  would  make  our 
consciences  quick,  even  as  he  has  made  the  apple 
of  the  eye  ;  that  he  would  arouse  our  souls  to  see 
sin  when  it  is  near,  as  he  has  formed  the  eye 
promptly  to  see  and  instinctively  to  guard  itself 
when  danger  is  near. 

4.  TJie  psalmist  tJius  prayed  that  God  ivonld 
keep  him  constantly.  The  eye  in  its  normal  con- 
dition is  constantly  protecting  itself,  and  the  whole 
body  hastens  to  render  needed  assistance.  No 
one  can  study  the  eye  without  being  profoundly 
impressed  by  the  excessive  pains  taken  by  the 
divine  Creator  to  ensure  its  protection  from  danger 


THE    MANIFOLD    KEEPING  I3I 

and  its  due  performance  of  its  appropriate  func- 
tions. There  is  just  as  much  evidence  of  mechan- 
ical contrivance  in  the  eye  as  in  the  telescope ; 
the  eye  was  made  for  vision,  the  telescope  to  assist 
the  eye  in  the  purpose  of  its  creation  ;  both  are 
perfectly  adapted  to  the  laws  of  light.  The  eye 
cannot  for  a  moment  be  off  its  guard  ;  all  its  parts 
must  co-operate  for  the  accomplishment  of  the 
purpose  for  which  it  is  bestowed.  It  is  most  in- 
structive to  see  how  its  muscular  tendons  perform 
offices  similar  to  the  various  mechanical  parts  of 
the  telescope.  Indeed,  it  is  vastly  more  complete 
than  any  optical  instrument.  No  instrument  is  so 
perfect  in  design,  so  exquisite  in  its  parts,  and  so 
efficient  in  its  results  ;  but  it  never  can  allow  it- 
self to  be  indifferent  to  the  dangers  which  menace 
it.     It  must  be  kept  constantly. 

Not  otherwise  is  it  with  our  spiritual  natures. 
The  Christian  man  is  never  off  duty  ;  he  can  never 
afford  to  make  light  of  the  claims  of  God  upon  his 
whole  being.  In  the  physical  realm  seeing  is  not 
done  by  the  eye  but  by  the  brain.  The  eye  simply 
makes  the  image  and  the  appropriate  nerve  carries 
the  fact  and  form  of  the  image  to  the  brain.  The 
nerve  simply  tells  the  brain  that  the  image  is 
formed  on  the  retina.  The  nerve  of  each  eye 
ought  to  tell  the  same  story  to  the  brain  ;  so  the 
conscience  must  receive  reports  from  every  part 
of  our  moral  nature.  We  cannot  afford  ever  to 
have  our  conscience  unfitted  for  immediate  service. 
No  man  can  speak  correctly  from  a  grammatical 


132  THE    MANIFOLD    KEEPING 

point  of  view,  when  called  upon  in  an  emergency, 
if  he  is  not  accurate  and  grammatical  at  all  times 
and  in  all  mental  states  ;  so  the  conscience  must 
be  kept  sweet,  clean,  pure,  and  full  of  light  at  all 
times,  that  it  may  possess  these  characteristics  in 
some  great  crisis  when  called  upon  to  give  an 
authoritative  decision.  Evidently  our  moral  na- 
tures are  capable  of  vast  improvement  with  ad- 
vancing years  and  increased  knowledge  in  the 
Christian  life.  The  eyes  of  near-sighted  persons 
become  better  as  they  grow  older  ;  so  the  spiritual 
eyes  of  many  Christians  improve  as  they  walk 
more  fully  in  the  light  of  God. 

5.  The  prayer,  therefore,  is  in  its  fullness,  that 
we  may  be  kept  completely  in  our  relations  to  one 
another  and  to  the  luorld.  There  are  no  more 
diseases  of  the  physical  eye  than  of  the  spiritual, 
and  the  diseases  of  the  spiritual  eye  are  equally 
dangerous.  Some  men  suffer  from  spiritual  cata- 
ract ;  they  are  in  danger  of  sinking  into  absolute 
darkness  ;  they  do  not  see  God  and  truth  and  duty, 
because  they  will  not.  After  a  little  time  will  not 
becomes  cannot.  If  a  man  lives  long  in  a  dark 
cave  he  will  soon  lose  the  power  of  vision.  In  caves 
there  are  various  kinds  of  fish  which  have  no  eyes. 
In  course  of  time  the  organ  of  vision  being  utterly 
unused  entirely  disappears.  Changes  in  physical 
structure  are  constantly  going  on  in  men  and 
animals  according  to  the  various  uses  to  which  they 
subject  the  different  parts  and  organs  of  their 
bodies.     The  arm  unused,  soon  loses  its  power  of 


THE    MANIFOLD    KEEPING  1 33 

motion.  Hindu  fakirs  have  held  their  arms  aloft 
until  the  muscles  have  become  rigid  and  now  their 
arms  are  incapable  of  motion.  These  facts  sug- 
gest a  broad  and  a  solemn  law.  If  a  man  refuses 
to  speak  for  God,  he  will  eventually  lose  the  power 
of  speech  in  testifying  for  truth  ;  if  a  man  refuses 
to  pray,  he  will  soon  lose  the  gift  of  prayerful 
utterance  ;  if  a  man  refuses  to  believe  in  Christ,  he 
will  lose  the  power  of  spiritual  faith  ;  if  a  man  re- 
fuses to  see  God,  by  living  pure  in  heart  and  thus 
complying  with  the  divine  condition  of  seeing  God, 
he  will  lose  the  power  of  this  beatific  vision. 
Heaven  and  hell  are  but  the  realized  conditions  of 
earth  ;  men  who  heed  God  here  can  love  God  here- 
after ;  but  men  who  walk  in  spiritual  darkness  now 
will  go  into  outer  darkness  forever  hereafter.  This 
is  a  terrible  possibility ;  and  it  is  a  possibility  en- 
tirely in  harmony  with  natural  law.  Fixity  in 
spiritual  conditions  tends  to  become  eternal.  There 
is  nothing  so  awful  in  the  conception  of  the  future 
as  the  utter,  the  outer,  and  the  eternal  darkness 
into  which  men  have  condemned  themselves  to 
live  by  living  in  spiritual  darkness  here  and  now. 
Look,  now,  I  beseech  you,  to  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Lamb  of  God  and  the  Light  of  the  world.  He  is 
that  true  light  that  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh 
into  the  world.  If  you  walk  in  this  light  it  will 
grow  brighter  and  brighter  unto  the  perfect  day. 
If  you  walk  in  darkness  now  you  must  keep  right 
on  walking  in  it — deeper,  blacker,  fouler  darkness, 
forever 


134  THE    MANIFOLD    KEEPING 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  great  optician  ;  he  is  the 
divine  ocuhst ;  he  is  the  universal  physician.  He 
can  cure  strabismus ;  he  can  remove  cataract,  tak- 
ing away  entirely  the  opacity  of  the  crystalline 
lens.  Thank  God,  he  can  cure  those  born  spirit- 
ually blind  even  as  he  cured  the  physically  and  the 
spiritually  blind  when  he  was  upon  earth.  Come 
to  him  now  in  your  darkness  and  blindness.  He 
will  give  you  sight.  He  will  remove  all  defects  of 
vision,  so  that  you  shall  not  see  men  as  trees 
walking,  so  that  you  shall  not  see  right  as  wrong 
and  wrong  as  right,  but  so  that  you  shall  see  him, 
the  King  in  his  beauty,  and  finally  shall  behold  the 
land  that  is  very  far  off.  God  in  heaven,  cure  us 
of  spiritual  blindness,  and  then  keep  us  as  the 
apple  of  the  eye  ! 


THE  GREATER  WORKS 


Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you.  He  that  believeth  on  me, 
the  works  that  I  do  shall  he  do  also ;  and  greater  works 
than  these  shall  he  do ;  because  I  go  unto  my  Father.  — 
John  14  :  12. 


IX 

THE  thought  of  parting  with  their  Master  filled 
the  hearts  of  the  disciples  with  sorrow  ;  but 
he  comforts  them  with  the  assurance  that  they 
shall  be  endowed  with  all  power  needful  for 
carrying  on  the  work  given  them  to  do.  We  see, 
however,  that  all  their  power  to  perform  miracles 
was  dependent  upon  their  faith  in  him  as  the  Son 
of  God.  He  distinctly  limits  the  bestowal  of 
power  by  the  words,  "He  that  believeth  on  me." 
The  faith  mentioned  in  the  text  refers  to  the  trust 
reposed  by  disciples  in  Jesus  Christ  as  their  divine 
Lord  and  Master,  as  the  divine  Son  of  God  and  the 
Messiah  of  Israel.  The  possession  of  miraculous 
power  is  thus  dependent  upon  the  exercise  of  per- 
sonal faith. 

The  characteristic  of  the  great  powers  they 
were  to  possess  is  shown  by  the  great  works  which 
they  were  to  perform.  We  are  first  taught  that 
they  were  to  perform  works  similar  to  those  which 
Christ  himself  had  performed,  "  The  works  that  I 
do  shall  ye  do  also."  The  pronoun  in  this  and  in 
the  last  clause  of  the  text  is  very  emphatic ;  it 
brings  out  in  striking  contrast  with  the  weakness 
of  the  disciples  the  inherent  strength  of  Christ; 
and  so  it  emphasizes  the  wonderful  statement  that 
weak  as  they  were  they  should  do  such  works  as 

137 


138  THE    GREATER    WORKS 

he  did  of  whom  divinity  had  just  been  affirmed. 
One  cannot  but  be  startled  as  he  contemplates 
this  remarkable  statement.  How  could  any  one 
perform  such  works  as  he  had  performed?  How 
can  the  greatest  of  men  hope  to  perform  miracles 
such  as  Jesus  had  performed  during  his  earthly 
life?  The  statement  startles  us  even  now.  Does 
this  remarkable  promise  of  power  to  them  weaken 
the  argument  which  Christ  had  drawn  from  his 
works  to  prove  his  own  divinity?  Certainly  not, 
when  the  real  meaning  of  Christ's  words  is  under- 
stood. Rightly  understood,  his  words  strengthen 
rather  than  weaken  the  argument  for  his  divinity 
as  drawn  from  his  works.  He  had  said  that  men 
should  believe  on  him  for  the  very  work's  sake, 
and  now  he  affirms  that  his  disciples  should  do 
what  he  had  done,  and  even  greater  works  than 
his  own.  Let  us  bear  in  mind,  however,  that  the 
miracles  which  they  wrought  were  wrought  not  in 
their  own  name,  but  in  his.  Let  us  emphasize  the 
truth  that  it  was  still  Christ  and  not  they  who  did 
the  works  ;  the  greater  their  works,  therefore,  the 
greater  his  honor.  It  is  important  that  we  should 
hold  this  truth  most  clearly  in  our  minds. 

Not  only  did  Christ  work  miracles  when  among 
us  in  the  flesh,  but  also  after  his  ascension  ;  he  then 
gave  power  to  others  to  work  miracles  in  his  name. 
He  was  able  to  delegate  this  power ;  he  did  dele- 
gate this  power.  It  was  in  his  name,  as  distinctly 
affirmed  by  Peter  and  John,  that  the  lame  man  was 
healed  at  the  Beautiful  Gate  of  the  temple.    They 


THE    GREATER    WORKS  1 39 

claimed  no  honor  for  themselves  in  the  perform- 
ance of  that  miracle.  Peter  distinctly  said,  "In 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth,  rise  up  and 
walk."  Did  Christ  when  upon  earth  directly  heal 
the  sick,  cleanse  the  lepers,  and  raise  the  dead  ? 
After  his  ascension  he  continued  to  perform  these 
miracles,  his  power  working  through  the  disciples. 
All  that  is  recorded  in  the  book  of  the  Acts  is 
still  the  work  of  Christ  as  truly  as  when  he  was 
upon  the  earth.  The  title,  "  The  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,"  is  not  inspired.  A  better  title  to  the 
book  would  be,  "The  Acts  of  the  Lord."  In  the 
Gospels  we  have  a  record  "of  all  that  Jesus  began 
both  to  do  and  teach  until  the  day  in  which  he  was 
taken  up."  In  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  we  have 
a  record  of  what  Jesus  continued  to  do  and  teach. 
He  is  still  the  mighty  worker ;  the  disciples  are 
simply  the  channel  through  which  his  power  flows. 
He  is  still  the  divine  author  of  all  power  ;  the  dis- 
ciples are  simply  his  instruments.  Did  Christ 
draw  sin-sick  souls  to  himself  when  upon  earth } 
By  his  power  his  disciples  should  still  continue  to 
draw  men  and  women  to  him  as  the  risen  Lord. 
Though  leaving  the  disciples,  so  far  as  his  physical 
presence  is  concerned,  the  work  should  not  cease. 
He  goes  up  to  his  vacant  throne  the  better  to 
control  the  work  of  his  servants,  and  the  more 
speedily  to  secure  the  triumph  of  his  kingdom. 

The  promise  contained  in  the  text  is  abundantly 
verified  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  The  sug- 
gestions already  made  as  to  the  relation  between 


140  THE    GREATER    WORKS 

the  Gospels  and  the  Acts  is  profoundly  suggestive. 
Christ  is  still  the  worker.  He  still  doeth  mira- 
cles, and  he  is  pleased  to  use  his  disciples  as  his 
instruments  in  performing  his  miracles.  We 
therefore  look  beyond  the  channel  through  which 
the  power  flows  to  its  lofty  and  divine  source  in 
Jesus  Christ  himself. 

But  our  text  tells  us  that  the  disciples  should 
do  even  greater  works  than  those  which  Christ 
did.  We  here  take  a  long  step  in  advance  of  the 
point  we  have  considered.  It  is  not  surprising 
that  this  statement  has  puzzled  and  well-nigh  con- 
founded many  earnest  Christian  students.  How 
could  the  disciples  do  greater  works  than  those 
which  Christ  himself  had  done  ?  What  can  be 
greater  than  the  raising  of  the  dead  ?  If  the 
disciples  could  do  greater  works  than  he  had  done, 
does  not  his  argument  for  his  equality  with  the 
Father  on  the  ground  of  his  miraculous  works  lose 
its  entire  force  .-'  We  have  already  explained  that 
Christ  was  still  the  worker,  and  these  disciples 
were  only  the  instruments  which  in  his  divine  wis- 
dom he  chose  to  employ.  Their  works,  therefore, 
were  in  the  full  sense  his  works,  although  he  was 
on  the  throne  directing  all  their  movements  and 
giving  them  all  necessary  power. 

Is  it  literally  true  that  the  disciples  did  greater 
works  than  Christ  himself  did  when  in  the  flesh .-' 
The  true  form  of  this  question  is.  Did  Christ 
choose  to  do  through  the  disciples  greater  works 
than  he  chose  to  do  in  his  own  personal  presence 


THE    GREATER    WORKS  I4I 

upon  the  earth  ?  This  latter  is  the  entirely  ac- 
curate form  of  the  question.  To  that  question 
one  is  obliged  to  answer  with  an  emphatic  affirma- 
tive. Attention  has  been  called  frequently  by 
commentators  to  the  fact  that  these  words  are 
certainly  true  in  the  physical  realm.  When  we 
look  at  the  facts  connected  with  the  miracles  of 
healing  performed'  by  Christ  on  the  one  side,  and 
by  the  apostles  on  the  other,  we  are  ready  to  af- 
firm that  he  through  them  did  greater  works  than 
he  did  in  his  own  personal  presence.  Christ 
healed  when  the  diseased  touched  the  fringe  of  his 
garment  ;  but  we  see  in  the  Acts  (5  :  15),  that  the 
Apostle  Peter  healed  even  when  his  shadow  fell 
upon  the  diseased.  We  see  also  in  Acts  (19  :  12), 
that  the  Apostle  Paul  healed  with  handkerchiefs 
and  aprons  that  had  touched  his  body.  We  also 
see  in  Acts  (5  :  5-10),  that  by  the  word  of  the 
Apostle  Peter,  Ananias  and  Sapphira  were  smitten 
with  death  ;  and  that  by  the  word  of  the  Apostle 
Paul  (Acts  13  :  11),  Elymas  the  sorcerer  was 
stricken  blind.  Our  Lord  wrought  miracles  for 
three  years  and  a  little  over,  in  a  limited  territory ; 
but  the  disciples  wrought  miracles  for  a  generation 
in  widely  separated  countries.  Christ  preached  in 
Judea  ;  the  disciples  went  everywhere  preaching 
the  word,  and  confirming  the  word  they  preached 
by  the  miracles  which  they  wrought. 

The  full  significance  of  this  promise  finds  its 
illustration  in  the  great  and  standing  miracle  of 
Christianity,  the  rapid  spread  of  the  gospel  and 


142  THE    GREATER    WORKS 

the  triumph  of  the  Christian  faith.  This  miracle 
is  greater  than  any  mere  physical  miracle  which 
was  or  which  could  be  performed.  Indeed  the 
evidential  value  of  miracles,  in  the  ordinary  sense 
of  the  term,  is  greatly  lessened  in  our  day.  Many 
Christian  apologists  would  prefer  to  have  the 
number  of  miracles  recorded  in  Holy  Scripture 
reduced  rather  than  increased.'  It  is  difficult  to 
draw  the  line  between  the  working  of  what  we 
call  natural  laws  and  the  introduction  of  divine 
power.  It  is  in  the  spiritual,  rather  than  in  the 
natural,  realm  that  the  greatest  miracles,  both  of 
Christ  and  the  disciples,  were  performed.  In  this 
realm  the  promise  of  our  Lord  is  emphatically 
true,  "and  greater  works  than  these  shall  ye  do." 
In  the  rapid  propagation  of  the  glorious  gospel 
this  promise  has  its  most  important  application. 
Deny  the  resurrection  and  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  you  cannot  explain  the  existence  of  the  church 
of  Jesus  Christ.  You  can  safely  challenge  any 
student  of  history  and  philosophy  to  account  for 
the  existence  of  the  church  if  he  denies  the  res- 
urrection of  its  Founder.  The  existence  of  the 
church  is  really  the  most  wonderful  of  miracles  ;  it 
is  simply  a  matter  of  history  that  under  the  preach- 
ing of  the  apostles  the  gospel  secured  greater  vic- 
tories than  under  Christ's  personal  ministry.  As 
already  explained,  the  victory  was  still  Christ's, 
the  power  still  went  out  from  him  as  the  enthroned 
King  in  Zion  and  Saviour  of  men.  He  himself 
said  a  short  time  before  his  crucifixion  :  "  And  I 


THE    GREATER    WORKS  I43 

if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth  will  draw  all  men 
unto  me."  He  was  now  lifted  up  upon  the  cross, 
lifted  up  to  the  throne,  and  lifted  up  in  the  preach- 
ing of  the  apostles.  His  own  promise  is  now  se- 
cure of  glorious  fulfillment.  He  is  drawing  men 
of  all  classes  and  conditions  to  himself.  They 
are  acknowledging  his  glorious  kingship  and  divine 
lordship.  That  power  and  those  "  greater  works  " 
were  especially  manifested  in  the  conversion  of 
his  enemies,  in  the  extension  of  his  kingdom,  in 
the  planting  of  churches,  and  in  carrying  the  gos- 
pel to  the  Gentiles  of  many  names  and  nations. 

The  conversion  of  a  soul  is  still  a  greater  miracle 
than  the  healing  of  a  body ;  in  a  sense  it  is  as 
great  a  miracle  as  raising  the  dead.  The  power 
which  could  transform  a  persecutor  like  Saul  of 
Tarsus  into  a  disciple  like  Paul  the  apostle,  is 
miraculous  and  divine.  It  is  more  wonderful  far 
to  open  the  eyes  of  a  soul  blind  and  dead  in  sin, 
than  the  eyes  of  a  body  blind  from  birth.  Our 
blessed  Lord  did  both.  At  the  time  of  our  Lord's 
ascension,  as  far  as  the  record  goes,  there  were 
only  six  hundred  and  twenty  disciples  in  the  world 
— five  hundred  in  Galilee  and  one  hundred  and 
twenty  in  Jerusalem.  We  are  indeed  warranted  in 
believing  that  there  were  many  more  or  less  secret 
disciples  ;  but  these  are  the  numbers  that  are  clearly 
given.  On  the  glorious  day  of  Pentecost,  when 
the  Holy  Spirit  came  in  mighty  power  as  Christ's 
ascension  gift,  the  miracle  of  the  tongues  was 
wrought  ;  the  Apostle  Peter  preaches,  and  three 


144  THE    GREATER    WORKS 

thousand  are  converted  to  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  as 
the  immediate  result  of  that  sermon.  A  short 
time  before,  Jesus  had  died  the  death  of  a  male- 
factor;  he  died  amid  the  jeers  and  taunts  of  the 
Jerusalem  mob,  and  now  these  Jerusalem  sinners 
are  convicted  in  heart  and  converted  to  Christ. 
The  Holy  Spirit  is  now  in  the  world  as  never  be- 
fore ;  his  dispensation  in  the  economy  of  the  reve- 
lation of  the  blessed  Trinity  has  begun.  On  this 
day  in  a  real  sense  the  church  was  founded,  and  in 
the  founding  of  the  church  the  greatest  of  con- 
ceivable miracles  was  wrought.  We  now  see  that 
the  gospel  spread  with  astonishing  rapidity ;  it  is 
difficult  for  us  to  realize  how  glorious  were  the  tri- 
umphs of  the  apostles  when  endued  with  the  power 
of  the  Spirit,  for  whose  coming  they  had  tarried 
and  prayed  in  Jerusalem.  The  success  of  their 
preaching  far  transcended  that  of  their  divine  Lord 
and  Master.  Now  the  Spirit  gave  their  preaching 
power  and  enabled  them  to  win  numerous  trophies 
for  their  crucified  and  ascended  Lord.  We  learn 
that  soon  five  thousand  more  became  obedient  to 
the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  soon  the  writer  gives 
up  the  count  regarding  numbers.  The  places 
where  the  disciples  and  their  hearers  met  were 
shaken  by  the  power  of  God,  and  all  the  people 
were  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  as  the  apostles 
spoke  the  word  of  God  with  great  boldness.  These 
were  wonderful  days  !  This  was  a  glorious  har- 
vest ;  Christ  was  the  sower,  the  apostles  were  the 
reapers. 


THE    GREATER    WORKS  1 45 


Evermore  the  harvest  time  must  be  greater 
than  the  seed  time.  He  who  a  short  time  be- 
fore had  died  as  a  felon,  now  reigns  as  King, 
and  his  followers  are  counted  by  thousands.  Soon 
the  whole  habitable  earth  was  under  the  influence 
of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  In  the  cottage  of  the 
peasant  and  in  the  palace  of  the  Caesars  Christ 
was  preached.  Away  over  the  rocky  hills  of 
Palestine  went  the  preachers  of  the  glad  tidings  ; 
and  mountains  and  valleys  echoed  and  re-echoed 
with  the  preaching  of  the  precious  gospel.  Soon 
the  islands  of  the  JEgean  became  stepping-stones 
for  the  feet  of  "the  sacramental  host  of  God's 
elect."  Away,  away,  over  sea  and  land  went  the 
glad  messengers  of  the  glad  tidings  of  redemption 
through  Jesus  Christ.  Ancient  philosophers, 
hoary  traditions,  classic  mythologies,  all  disap- 
peared before  the  simple  story  of  the  blessed  gos- 
pel. The  cross  was  the  instrument  which  battered 
down  the  walls  of  heathen  error  enthroned  amid 
the  halls  of  learning  and  the  palaces  of  power,  and 
soon  the  cross  was  the  symbol  on  the  banners  of 
Rome's  triumphant  army,  and  Christ  was  recog- 
nized on  the  throne  of  the  descendants  of  Caesar. 
Christianity  thus,  to  its  spiritual  detriment,  be- 
came the  recognized  religion  of  Roman  power. 
This  rapid  extension  of  the  gospel  is  the  miracle 
of  miracles  ;  it  is  one  of  the  "  greater  works " 
that  the  disciples  were  to  accomplish  in  the  name 
and  by  the  power  of  their  ascended  Lord.  So 
explained,  we  can  readily  see  the  meaning  of  our 

K 


146  THE    GREATER    WORKS 

Lord's  promise  and  its  literal  fulfillment  in  the  his- 
tory and  work  of  his  apostles. 

We  have  also,  in  the  text,  a  statement  of  the 
reason  of  the  accomplishment  of  greater  works  on 
the  part  of  the  disciples — "  because  I  go  unto  my 
Father."  This  reason  has  been  implied  in  the 
remarks  already  made.  The  coming  of  the  Com- 
forter depended  on  the  departure  of  Jesus  Christ  in 
his  physical  presence.  Christ's  spiritual  presence 
could  not  be  granted  until  he  had  entered  on  his 
glorified  state.  While  with  the  disciples  he  was 
their  Comforter,  their  Paraclete  in  all  the  blessed 
meaning  of  this  suggestive  title.  He  promised  that 
upon  his  departure  "  another  Comforter  "  should 
come.  It  was  expedient  for  them  that  he  should  go 
away  in  order  that  the  other  Comforter  might  come. 
While  with  his  disciples  his  presence  was  local  ;  if 
with  them  in  one  city,  he  could  not  be  with  them  in 
his  physical  presence  in  another  city.  Our  Lord 
gave  up  much  of  his  glory  by  his  voluntary  humilia- 
tion in  becoming  a  man.  The  cloud  of  humanity 
came  across  the  face  of  the  sun  of  his  divinity.  He 
accepted  humanity  with  many  of  its  conditions  and 
limitations,  although  he  did  not  become  stained 
with  its  sinfulness  ;  but  having  finished  his  earthly 
work  he  entered  upon  the  glory  which  he  had  with 
the  Father  before  the  world  was.  His  return  to 
the  Father  was  followed  by  the  descent  of  the 
Spirit ;  and  that  descent  is  here  given  as  the  rea- 
son why  his  disciples  should  perform  these  greater 
works.     The    Spirit's    presence    now    in    a  fuller 


THE    GREATER    WORKS  1 47 


sense  than  ever  before  was  manifested  among 
men.  Each  Person  in  the  blessed  Trinity  has  his 
appropriate  part  to  perform  in  the  work  of  human 
redemption.  Christ's  absence  made  the  presence 
of  the  Comforter  the  more  necessary ;  his  presence 
with  the  Father  made  it  possible,  in  harmony  with 
the  divine  plan,  for  the  Spirit  to  be  gloriously 
present  on  the  earth. 

The  Spirit  was  in  a  measure  present  from  the 
dawn  of  human  history ;  he  brooded  over  chaos 
in  the  morning  of  creation.  The  psalmist  rec- 
ognized the  blessedness  of  the  Spirit's  presence, 
and  prayed  against  the  danger  of  his  withdrawal. 
With  the  coming  of  the  promised  Comforter  came 
the  bestowal  of  the  promised  power.  When  Christ 
"  ascended  on  high  he  led  captivity  captive,  and 
gave  gifts  unto  men."  This  power  came  because 
Christ  was  exalted  and  crowned  with  glory  and 
honor  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  We  arc  now 
living,  in  a  special  sense,  in  the  dispensation  of 
the  Spirit.  There  was  a  fullness  of  time  in  the 
coming  of  Christ ;  so  there  was  a  fullness  of  time 
in  the  completer  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost.  Christ  had  tabernacled  among 
men  frequently  before  his  incarnation  as  the  child 
of  Mary  and  his  birth  in  the  manger  at  Bethlehem  ; 
but  he  then  came  in  a  fuller  sense  than  before ; 
and  he  then  came  to  dwell  for  a  long  period  in  the 
flesh.  In  like  manner  the  Spirit  was  present  pre- 
vious to  the  day  of  Pentecost ;  but  he  then  came 
in  larger  measure,  in  sublimer  manifestation,  and 


148  THE    GREATER    WORKS 

in  the  accomplishment  of  a  diviner  work  in  the 
conversion  of  men  to  God. 

The  church  has  too  often  forgotten  to  give  due 
prominence  to  the  Spirit's  mighty  manifestations 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and  his  abode  in  the 
church  from  that  day  to  the  present.  As  Christ 
was  incarnated  in  the  child  of  Mary,  so  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  incarnated  in  all  the  children  of  God, 
The  Apostle  Paul  in  writing  to  the  Corinthians  dis- 
tinctly affirms  that  the  bodies  of  true  believers  are 
the  temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  This  is  a  mar- 
velous thought ;  this  is  a  blessed  realization. 
Christ  dwelt  as  in  a  tent  or  tabernacle  ;  but  the 
Spirit  dwells  in  us  as  in  a  temple  ;  he  is  to  abide 
with  his  people  even  unto  the  end.  From  those 
who  are  true  believers  the  Spirit  will  never  take 
his  departure.  He  is  here  as  the  advocate  of  God 
the  Father  with  men,  as  Christ  is  present  on  high 
as  the  advocate  of  men  with  God  the  Father. 
We  should  rejoice  in  the  glorious  significance  of 
the  name  given  to  the  third  person  of  the 
Trinity,  as  the  Paraclete.  Our  word  Comforter  is 
too  narrow  a  word  to  cover  the  broad  and  blessed 
significance  of  the  heavenly  Paraclete.  He  is  our 
helper,  adviser,  and  comforter.  Doubtless  the 
word  comforter  comes  from  the  Latin  conforto, 
meaning  to  strengthen  7nnch,  but  we  have  now  re- 
stricted the  meaning  of  the  word.  In  the  Refor- 
mation period  the  Spirit  was  especially  the  Illu- 
minator of  God's  word  to  God's  people.  In  later 
times,  especially  the  times  of  Wesley  and  Whit- 


THE    GREATER    WORKS  1 49 

field,  when  the  church  had  sunk  into  a  cold  and 
dead  formalism,  the  Spirit  was  the  Quickener  of 
God's  people.  Perhaps  in  our  day  he  is  peculiarly 
the  Leader  of  God's  people,  revealing  to  them  the 
things  of  Christ,  leading  them  into  all  truth  and 
into  enlarged  spheres  of  benevolent  activity  in 
missionary  enterprises  at  home  and  abroad. 

Let  us  anew  recognize  the  relation  of  Christ's 
ascent  to  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Paraclete.  Let 
us  anew  appreciate  the  presence,  and  honor  the 
person,  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  church  of  God. 
Let  us  not  so  much  pray,  "  Pour  out  thy  Spirit," 
as  "quicken  our  hearts  to  recognize  the  Spirit's 
presence  and  power."  Let  us  put  ourselves  anew 
under  his  holy  and  divine  leadership,  that  we  may 
do  greater  works  than  were  ever  before  done  in 
the  church  of  God. 

Never  were  the  opportunities  so  great  as  now 
for  doing  great  things  for  God  and  man.  The 
whole  earth  is  a  whispering  gallery  making  known 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Saviour  of  men. 
Telegraphs,  telephones,  steamships,  and  railways 
have  girdled  the  earth  as  never  before.  Doors 
are  opening  into  every  heathen  nation.  God  is 
calling  his  church  to  go  up  and  possess  the  land 
for  his  Son  and  for  the  salvation  of  men.  To-day 
India  is  as  near  to  America  as  once  Great  Britain 
was ;  to-day  in  heathen  lands  science  is  opening 
highways  for  the  feet  of  the  messengers  of  Christ. 
Oh,  that  God  would  arouse  his  church  to  do  these 
greater  works  !     Oh,  that  our  own  hearts  might 


150  THE    GREATER    WORKS 

be  opened  as  never  before,  to  be  the  spheres  in 
which  the  divine  Spirit  should  achieve  the  triumphs 
of  divine  grace !  God  hasten  the  day  when  his 
church  shall  arise,  girding  herself  with  his  power, 
putting  on  her  beautiful  garments,  and  marching 
forth  •'  clear  as  the  sun,  fair  as  the  moon,  and 
terrible  as  an  army  with  banners,"  to  bring  this 
rebellious  world  into  sweet  submission  at  the 
pierced  feet  of  Jesus  Christ. 


THE  EVERLASTING  ARMS 


The  eternal  God  is  thy  refuge,  and  tinderneath  are  the 
everlasting  arms;  and  he  shall  thrust  out  the  enemy  from 
before  thee  ;  and  shall  say,  Destroy  them.  — Deut.  jj  :  2^. 


X 

IT  seems  as  if  Moses  might  have  concluded  his 
remarks  to  the  children  of  Israel  with  the 
close  of  the  preceding  chapter.  But  his  great 
heart  is  full,  and  out  of  its  abundance  he  must 
still  speak  and  write.  The  farewell  sermon  which 
he  had  already  preached  was  beautiful,  powerful, 
and  pathetic.  After  the  sermon,  as  Matthew  Henry 
suggests,  he  gave  out  a  long  psalm,  and  nothing 
then  remained  but  to  dismiss  the  people  with  a 
blessing.  That  blessing  he  pronounces  in  this 
chapter  in  the  name  of  his  God  and  theirs.  The 
ode  with  which  the  chapter  closes  is  one  of  great 
energy  and  beauty ;  it  describes  in  glowing  terms 
this  wonderful  people  and  their  remarkable  privi- 
leges. Although  in  our  Common  version  the  words 
appear  as  prose,  they  are  really  poetry ;  and  the 
author's  meaning  would  be  much  clearer  if  the 
translation  were  given  in  lines  corresponding  to 
the  original. 

Many  tender  and  precious  truths  are  here 
uttered.  It  will  be  observed  that  these  are  the 
last  words  which  Moses,  the  great  leader  and  law- 
giver, ever  wrote.  He  did  not  of  course  write  the 
account  of  his  own  death.  The  fact  that  the  text 
is  among  his  last  words  invests  it  with  a  strange 
and  tender  interest.     Moses  is  now  one  hundred 

153 


154  THE    EVERLASTING    ARMS 

and  twenty  years  of  age,  but  his  eye  is  not  dim 
and  his  natural  strength  is  not  abated.  Joshua 
has  been  appointed  his  successor ;  the  law  has 
been  written  out  and  ordered  to  be  deposited  in 
the  ark.  The  song  and  the  blessing  of  the  tribes 
conclude  the  long  and  last  farewell.  Soon  the 
mysterious  close  will  come.  Up  Pisgah's  heights 
Moses  climbed ;  here  he  surveyed  the  four  great 
masses  of  Palestine  west  of  the  Jordan,  so  far  as 
it  could  be  seen  from  that  position.  The  last 
farewells  are  said,  and  Moses  in  mystery  and  maj- 
esty goes  up  to  glory  and  to  God.  With  his  last 
earthly  breath  he  will  magnify  the  Israel  of  God 
and  the  God  of  Israel. 

Three  of  God's  relations  to  us  are  here  beauti- 
fully set  forth.  It  will  be  profitable  for  us  to  study 
these  relations  and  truths  which  they  so  fully  and 
so  tenderly  suggest. 

I .  God  is  here  presented  to  us  as  a  refuge —  "  tJie 
eternal  God  is  thy  refuged  The  word  translated 
"refuge"  conveys  much  instruction  to  every  care- 
ful reader.  When  we  look  down  into  the  heart  of 
the  word  we  see  that  it  really  means  that  God  is 
our  house,  our  home,  our  habitation  or,  as  it  has 
been  rendered,  our  "  mansion-house."  Every  true 
believer  has  his  home  in  God  ;  and  his  soul  was 
houseless  and  homeless  until  it  found  rest  in  God. 
God  is  the  heart's  comfort,  and  the  spirit's  hiding- 
place.  Moses  in  the  ninetieth  Psalm  speaks  of 
God  "as  our  dwelling-place  in  all  generations." 
Atheism  makes  the  heart  an  orphan  in  God's  great 


THE    EVERLASTIiNG    ARMS  I  55 

universe  ;  atheism  robs  us  of  our  God,  of  our  help, 
of  our  home,  and  of  our  hope.  It  leaves  a  man 
without  God  and  without  hope.  Long  ago  in  in- 
comparable words  did  Augustine  say :  "  Thou,  O 
God,  hast  made  us  for  thyself,  and  our  heart  is 
restless  until  it  reposes  in  thee  "  ;  and  Jean  Inge- 
low,  taking  the  psalmist's  thought,  sings  : 

Thou  art  what  I  want  ; 

I  am  athirst  for  God,  the  living  God. 

Thousands  have  since  realized  the  truth  of  these 
longings,  and  they  have  also  sweetly  experienced 
the  blessedness  of  finding  their  home  in  God,  It 
is  man's  highest  honor  and  greatest  glory  that 
nothing  short  of  the  eternal  God  can  satisfy  the 
longings  of  the  soul.  Things  may  satisfy  the 
wants  of  the  beasts  that  perish  ;  but  things  can 
never  fill  the  aching  void  in  human  hearts.  A  liv- 
ing man  needs  a  living  God.  Were  it  possible  for 
us  to  be  possessors  of  half  the  world,  we  should 
be  dissatisfied  until  we  had  the  other  half ;  and  if 
we  had  both  halves  we  should  still  be  dissatisfied, 
for  only  as  we  possess  God  can  we  know  peace, 
joy,  and  genuine  blessedness.  The  rich  fool  of 
whom  our  Lord  speaks,  was  a  fool  indeed ;  he 
thought  he  could  satisfy  the  longings  of  his  soul 
because  he  had  much  goods  laid  up  in  his  barn 
for  many  years.  But  souls  cannot  live  on  grain  ; 
they  need  the  spiritual  food  which  only  God  can 
supply. 

God  is  a  refuge  to  the  soul  when  men  become 


156  THE    EVERLASTING    ARMS 

conscious  of  the  bondage  of  sin.  When  Israel 
groaned  under  the  oppressions  of  Egyptian  slavery, 
their  hearts  went  up  in  a  longing  cry  unto  God. 
Neither  did  they  cry  unto  God  in  vain.  He  heard 
the  voice  of  their  prayer  and  he  made  bare  his 
arm  for  their  deliverance.  God's  greatness  is  most 
gloriously  seen  when  he  inclines  his  ear  to  the  cry 
of  his  feeblest  child.  God  does  not  wrap  himself 
in  clouds  of  mystery,  nor  in  garments  of  unap- 
proachable glory.  God  does  not  enthrone  himself 
in  remote  quarters  of  the  universe,  and  remain  in- 
different to  the  sufferings  and  supplications  of  his 
children.  Never  is  his  glory  so  glorious  as  when 
he  reveals  his  power  to  save  his  people.  So  great 
is  God  that  he  metes  out  heaven  with  a  span,  but 
he  takes  his  whole  arm  for  the  protection  of  one 
of  the  lambs  of  his  flock.  Israel  in  Egypt  is  still 
God's  Israel ;  and  God  in  heaven  is  still  Israel's 
God.  When  Israel  realized  her  bondage  and 
longed  for  deliverance,  God  prepared  the  deliverer 
to  accomplish  the  deliverance.  So  when  men  and 
women  to-day  are  conscious  of  sin  and  cry  unto 
God  he  will  give  them  his  peace  when  they  give 
him  their  trust.  When  they  long  to  overcome  sin 
and  Sata-n,  God  is  ready  to  interpose  his  power 
and  to  give  them  the  victory.  When  they  are 
conscious  of  their  transgressions  against  his  holy 
and  righteous  law  God  is  ready  to  say,  "  I,  even  I, 
am  he  that  blotteth  out  thy  transgressions  for 
mine  own  sake,  and  will  not  remember  thy  sins." 
God  is  a  refuge  when  in  the  Christian  path  our 


THE    EVERLASTING    ARMS  1 57 

enemies  become  numerous  and  powerful.  He  was 
a  refuge  to  Israel  at  the  Red  Sea.  Never  were 
God's  people  in  a  more  trying  position  than  was 
Israel  at  that  time.  They  knew  well  the  strength 
and  anger  of  the  enemy;  they  knew  equally  well 
their  own  defenseless  condition.  Their  very  num- 
bers were  a  source  of  weakness  rather  than  strength. 
They  were  on  foot,  unarmed,  undisciplined,  and 
dispirited  by  long  years  of  servitude.  They  are 
now  penned  up  in  a  situation  of  peculiar  danger. 
Upward  went  the  cry  of  Moses  on  behalf  of  the 
people;  downward  came  the  deliverance  of  God 
for  his  endangered  saints.  Glorious  always  and 
everywhere  is  God  as  the  refuge  of  his  people. 

Israel  experienced  God's  help  and  presence  in 
the  fierce  attack  made  by  the  Amalekites.  They 
were  the  first  assailants  of  the  Israelites  after  pass- 
age through  the  Red  Sea.  We  behold  Moses  on 
the  mount  engaged  in  prayer,  his  weary  arms  up- 
held by  Aaron  and  Hur,  while  Joshua  fights  with 
the  Amalekites  in  the  valley  below.  When  Moses 
held  up  his  hand  in  prayer  Israel  prevailed,  but 
when  he  ceased  Amalek  prevailed.  Praying  and 
fighting  must  go  side  by  side  in  heavenly  warfare. 
Joshua  in  the  field  of  battle  and  Moses  in  prayer 
on  the  hilltop  are  alike  necessary  to  victory.  Our 
blessed  Christ  is  both  our  Joshua  and  our  Moses  ; 
as  Joshua,  he  is  the  captain  of  our  salvation,  who 
fights  our  battles,  and  as  Moses,  he  is  on  the  throne 
in  heaven  ever  living  to  make  intercession  for  his 
people.     God  is  our  refuge,  to  whom  we  can  run 


158  THE    EVERLASTING    ARMS 

and  be  safe  now,  as  did  his  praying  and  fighting 
saints  in  that  early  day. 

In  the  deep  glens  and  up  the  rough  hillsides 
of  Scotland,  God  again  and  again  proved  himself 
to  be  a  refuge  to  his  endangered  people.  He 
sometimes  wrapped  them  around  with  clouds  of 
mist  to  hide  them  from  their  Satanic  foes.  He 
sometimes  made  the  dens  and  caves  in  the  moun- 
tains his  pavilion,  into  which  these  endangered 
witnesses  might  run  and  be  safe.  He  became 
their  high  tower,  their  strong  fortress,  their  in- 
accessible and  impregnable  munition  of  rocks. 
God  has  never  forsaken  his  people  in  their  hour 
of  danger.  All  through  the  Reformation,  and 
other  crucial  periods  in  the  history  of  the 
church,  he  has  been  round  about  his  saints  for 
their  deliverance.  They  have  been  able  triumph- 
antly to  say  with  the  psalmist,  "  The  Lord  is  my 
light  and  my  salvation,  whom  shall  I  fear ;  the 
Lord  is  the  strength  of  my  life,  of  whom  shall  I 
be  afraid.''"  No  body  of  people  can  more  fully 
testify  to  these  truths  than  our  own  Baptist 
brotherhood.  They  have  borne  witness  for  Christ 
in  almost  every  land.  Some  have  bedewed  the 
soil  in  the  valleys  with  their  blood,  and  others 
have  stained  the  snow  on  the  mountains  with  the 
crimson  tide.  But  they  and  thousands  more  have 
ever  found  that  God  was  their  refuge  and  strength. 
Well  might  glorious  John  Milton,  as  secretary  of 
Cromwell,  when  the  duke  of  Savoy  so  terribly  per- 
secuted the  Protestant  people  in  the  Alps,  sing : 


THE    EVERLASTING    ARMS  1 59 

Avenge,  O  Lord,  thy  slaughtered  saints,  whose  bones 
Lie  scattered  on  the  Alpine  mountains  cold. 
Even  them  who  kept  thy  truth  so  pure  of  old, 
When  all  our  fathers  worshiped  stocks  and  stones, 
Forget  not  in  thy  book. 

God  proved  himself  to  be  the  supply  of  Israel's 
need  and  refuge  from  heat  and  hunger  and  thirst 
during  all  their  wilderness  journey.  He  brought 
water  in  gushing  streams  from  flinty  rocks  ;  and  he 
sent  manna  as  miraculous  food  from  heaven  to 
supply  the  wants  of  his  people.  Not  otherwise 
does  God  prove  himself  to  his  people  to-day. 
They  who  trust  him  are  never  brought  to  shame. 
He  has  marvelous  ways  of  supplying  the  wants  of 
his  people.  All  the  forces  of  nature  and  grace 
are  at  his  command.  He  can  make  cyclones  his 
servants,  storms  his  messengers,  and  peaceful 
seasons  his  gentle  benedictions.  His  love  is  as 
unexhausted  as  his  power  is  unlimited  ;  his  grace 
is  as  abundant  as  his  wisdom  is  profound  and  his 
might  omnipotent.  His  heart  is  the  heart  of  a 
mother,  while  his  arm  is  that  of  Jehovah.  Happy, 
thrice  happy,  are  they  who  lean  upon  his  heart 
and  who  trust  his  arm.  Travelers  on  the  higher 
Alps  have  often  told  us  that  they  sometimes  rise 
to  heights  so  great  that  they  see  beneath  them  the 
clouds  rolling,  the  lightning  flashing,  and  the  rain 
falling  in  torrents.  They  hear  the  thunder  roll  as 
the  very  artillery  of  God ;  but  the  mountain  peaks 
on  which  they  stand  are  above  the  storm  and  are 
bathed  in  the  glory  of  unclouded  sunshine.     The 


l60  THE    EVERLASTING    ARMS 

peace  of  God  dwells  in  that  lofty  region,  and  only 
beneath  are  the  storms  of  earth.  Such  is  the  ex- 
perience of  those  who  make  God  their  refuge. 
They  dwell  in  unbroken  light,  in  undisturbed 
peace,  and  in  unfailing  joy.  The  eternal  God  is 
their  refuge,  and  underneath  are  the  everlasting 
arms. 

2.  God  is  represented  to  its  in  this  text  as  a  sup- 
port— ^^  underneath  are  the  everlasting  arms T  In 
this  part  of  the  text  the  figure  presented  to  us  in 
the  former  part  is  changed ;  an  additional  and 
beautiful  thought  is  introduced.  We  know  that 
the  arm  is  a  symbol  of  power,  and  power  in  active 
exercise.  Numerous  passages  of  Scripture  bring 
out  this  thought.  We  have  here  a  most  beautiful 
and  instructive  figure.  God's  power  is  fully  pledged 
for  the  deliverance  of  his  people.  This  figure 
teaches  us  that  God  is  a  support  appropriately 
placed  "underneath."  This  is  the  position  in 
which  a  support  is  rightly  located.  God  is  such  a 
support  when  his  children  sink  in  their  conscious 
humiliation  and  weakness ;  when  they  are  con- 
sciously humbled,  they  are  then  divinely  exalted. 
When  they  have  confessed  their  weakness,  then 
they  are  truly  strong.  When  they  feel  their  need 
of  God  as  a  refuge  and  support,  they  are  best  pre- 
pared to  run  to  him  as  a  protector  and  to  lean  upon 
him  as  a  helper.  They  need  the  support  beneath 
them  also  when  they  sink  under  their  heavy  bur- 
dens. God  has  not  promised  that  his  children 
shall  not  bear  the  cross ;    cross-bearing  is  insep- 


THE    EVERLASTING    ARMS  l6l 

arable  from  their  Christian  service.  God  has  not 
promised  that  his  children  shall  not  go  through 
deep  waters  nor  into  fiercely  heated  furnaces ;  but 
he  has  promised  that  the  waters  shall  not  overflow 
them,  and  that  the  fire  shall  not  consume  them. 
He  has  promised  that  he  will  be  with  them  alike 
in  the  floods  and  in  the  flames.  Gethsemane  and 
Calvary  evermore  lie  on  this  side  of  Olivet.  We 
must  drink  our  cup  in  Gethsemane  and  endure  our 
cross  on  Calvary  before  we  shall  experience  our 
glorious  ascension  from  Olivet.  Have  courage,  O 
child  of  God.  Trust  thy  Father's  love  and  might. 
There  shall  be  no  burden  so  heavy  but  that  he  will 
give  thee  grace  to  carry  it  to  his  glory.  However 
low  you  may  sink  beneath  the  weight  of  the  daily 
cross,  still  lower  you  shall  find  the  everlasting 
arms,  for  they  are  underneath.  You  shall  sink  low 
perhaps  in  sickness,  but  no  bed  on  which  you  lie 
can  be  so  far  down  but  that  beneath  it  are  those 
same  loving  arms.  I  have  repeated  these  words 
again  and  again  to  the  sick  and  the  dying,  and  as 
they  have  fallen  upon  the  ear  I  have  seen  the  eye 
brighten  and  the  peace  of  God  come  upon  the 
illumined  face.  Bending  a  little  time  ago  over  a 
dying  brother,  a  member  of  this  church,  I  gave 
these  words  as  my  parting  message.  Two  days 
passed  and  I  was  again  by  that  bedside.  Our 
brother's  feet  had  already  touched  the  cold  waters 
of  death's  river ;  the  chill  was  upon  hand  and  brow. 
I  bent  still  lower  until  my  ear  caught  his  whisper, 
and  these  were  the  words  I  heard,  "  Underneath 

L 


1 62  THE    EVERLASTING    ARMS 

are  the  everlasting  arms,"  and  with  these  words  in 
his  heart  and  on  his  lips  he  went  out  into  the 
world  that  is  so  near  and  yet  so  far.  You  shall  be 
laid  low  one  day  in  the  grave,  but  no  grave  is  so 
deep  but  that  beneath  you  therein  are  the  ever- 
lasting arms  ;  and  God  shall  one  day  raise  you  up 
again  by  his  almighty  power.  Blessed  symbol  of 
God's  loving  might !  Glorious  truth  of  God's  om- 
nipotent power!  Who  would  not  be  upheld  and 
encircled  by  these  strong,  these  everlasting  arms } 
It  is  interesting  also  to  observe  that  this  is  an 
enduring  support.  It  is  the  "eternal"  God  who 
is  our  refuge;  and  the  arms  underneath  are  "ever- 
lasting." I  officiated  not  long  ago  at  the  funeral 
of  a  young  mother.  While  the  services  were  in 
progress  her  babe  was  crying  for  her  in  tones  so 
pathetic  that  the  hearts  of  us  all  were  touched. 
But  her  ear  was  heavy  that  she  could  not  hear,  and 
her  arm  was  powerless  that  it  could  not  protect 
her  child.  Blessed  be  God,  his  ear  is  never  heavy 
and  his  arm  is  never  weary.  It  is  an  everlasting 
arm.  Such  a  support  we  need  in  this  changeful 
world  of  ours.  The  friend  of  to-day  may  forget  us 
to-morrow ;  our  beneficiaries  of  yesterday  may  be 
our  opponents  to-day.  To  do  some  men  a  kind- 
ness is  to  make  them  hereafter  our  cold  friends  or 
our  open  enemies.  But  not  so  with  God ;  his  cov- 
enant is  an  everlasting  covenant.  His  consolations, 
like  his  covenants,  are  everlasting  ;  and  his  arms, 
like  his  covenants  and  consolations,  are  everlasting 
arms.     Let  us  never,  never  doubt  our  God, 


THE    EVERLASTING    ARMS  1 63 

God  is  a  tender  as  well  as  an  enduring  support ; 
this  thought  is  suggested  by  the  word  "arm."  No 
earthly  father  or  mother  is  half  so  gentle  as  is  God. 
If  father  be  an  endearing  appellation  on  earth,  God 
permits  us  to  call  him  father.  If  the  word  mother 
touches  the  tenderest  springs  of  human  affection, 
God  permits  us  to  use  that  name  as  illustrative  of 
his  love.  "  I  should  have  been  a  French  atheist," 
said  Randolph,  "  had  it  not  been  for  one  recollec- 
tion, and  that  was  when  my  departed  mother  used 
to  take  my  little  hands  in  hers  and  cause  me  on 
my  knees  to  say,  '  Our  Father,  who  art  in  heaven.'  " 
Well  may  he  say  that  there  is  more  eloquence  in 
such  words  lisped  by  the  feeblest  child  than  ever 
came  from  the  lips  of  the  most  eloquent  orators 
the  world  has  ever  known.  Often  in  our  times 
of  weakness  and  weariness  the  words  of  the  now 
sainted  laureate, 

But  oh,  for  the  touch  of  a  vanished  hand, 
And  the  sound  of  a  voice  that  is  still  ! 

come  to  our  lips  as  a  hopeless  prayer.  Then  im- 
mediately above  all  such  earthly  loves  the  heart 
goes  up  to  God,  who  is  both  father  and  mother  to 
every  trusting  child. 

3.  Atid  in  the  last  place,  this  text  teaches  us  that 
God  is  a  leader — "//>  shall  thmst  out  the  enemy 
from  before  thee  and  shall  say,  Destroy  them^  God 
leads  the  van.  He  ever  goeth  before  his  people. 
When  Israel  went  through  the  wilderness  he  went 
before  them  as  a  pillar  of  cloud  by  day  and  of  fire 


164  THE    EVERLASTING    ARMS 

by  night.  When  they  entered  the  promised  land 
he  made  the  Jordan  flee  before  them,  made  cities 
fall  down  at  their  feet,  and  made  enemies  flee  at 
their  approach.  Wellington  estimated  the  presence 
of  Napoleon  as  equal  to  an  additional  force  of  fifty 
thousand  men  to  the  French.  Who  shall  estimate 
the  numbers  for  which  God's  presence  stands  as 
the  leader  of  his  conquering  hosts  ?  Who  can 
stand  before  the  divine  wisdom  and  unlimited 
power  of  the  mighty  God  of  Jacob  ?  He  is  the 
Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of  Sabaoth.  Ours  is  a 
triumphant  contest ;  ours  is  an  assured  victory ; 
ours  is  an  unspeakable  triumph.  Forward,  ye 
hosts  of  God,  under  his  divine  leadership.  Fear 
neither  earth  nor  hell,  neither  man  nor  devil,  with 
God  as  your  leader,  for  you  shall  gloriously  over- 
come every  enemy. 

God  as  a  leader  goes  before  his  people  for  a  defi- 
nite purpose — "  He  shall  thrust  out  the  enemy." 
At  the  very  beginning  of  our  Lord's  ministry  he 
had  to  come  into  contact  with  his  enemy  and  ours. 
That  was  a  fierce  conflict  in  the  wilderness  between 
Christ  and  Satan.  Satan  had  overcome  the  first 
Adam.  Shall  he  overcome  the  second  .-•  The  con- 
flict began  in  the  wilderness  immediately  following 
the  baptism  in  the  Jordan.  At  that  baptism  Christ 
had  been  recognized  as  God's  beloved  Son.  The 
temptation  also  followed  the  long  period  of  fasting. 
Terrible  was  the  conflict  ;  but  glorious  was  the 
victory.  Christ  refused  all  the  blandishments  of 
Satan.     He  rebukes  and  repels ;  he  humiliates  and 


THE    EVERLASTING    ARMS  1 65 

despises  Satan.  He  uses  no  weapon  which  we  may 
not  use ;  he  wins  no  victory  which  we  may  not  win. 
His  weapon  was  "the  sword  of  the  Spirit,"  which 
is  "the  word  of  God,"  and  by  that  weapon  he  over- 
came. So  in  the  beginning  of  our  Christian  hfe, 
Satan  makes  his  fierce  onsets,  just  as  the  Amal- 
ekites  at  Rephidim  cowardly  and  wickedly  fell 
upon  the  weakest  and  most  defenseless  of  God's 
people ;  but  God  had  there  his  Joshua  to  fight  and 
his  Moses  to  pray.  So  God  has  given  us  Jesus  as 
the  true  Joshua  to  fight  our  battles  and  to  present 
our  petitions.  In  the  wilderness  he  struck  the 
crown  from  Satan's  brow  and  the  sceptre  from  his 
hand,  and  Satan  was  never  the  same  afterward  as 
before.  It  is  true  that  in  the  hour  and  power  of 
darkness  he  made  one  more  attempt  upon  Christ 
as  the  "strong  Son  of  God"  ;  but  in  that  last  onset 
he  was  terribly  defeated  and  Christ  was  again  glo- 
riously triumphant.  God  in  the  person  of  his  Son 
still  goeth  before  us  against  our  foes  and  for  our 
deliverance. 

God  as  our  leader  gives  us  a  command  to  aid  in 
the  work — "Destroy  them."  While  he  thrusts  out 
our  enemy  from  before  us  he  commands  us  to  use 
our  power  to  the  same  end.  God's  early  people 
were  entering  the  land  that  was  full  of  formidable 
foes.  These  foes  looked  upon  themselves  as  the 
rightful  owners  of  the  soil,  but  God  gives  Israel  a 
commission  to  destroy  them  as  the  enemies  of  God 
and  the  enemies  of  good.  God  as  the  sovereign 
Lord  of  all  lands  and  peoples  commands  the  chil- 


1 66  THE    EVERLASTING    ARMS 

dren  of  Israel  to  take  possession  of  the  land  of 
Canaan.  God  issues  a  similar  command  to  his 
children  to-day.  This  world  of  ours  does  not  be- 
long to  Satan.  When  he  promised  to  deliver  the 
kingdom  to  Christ  if  Christ  should  worship  him  in 
the  wilderness,  he  was  a  liar,  and  such  he  has  been 
from  the  beginning.  Even  if  Christ  had  yielded 
to  the  temptation,  Satan  could  not  have  performed 
the  contract.  The  pierced  hand  of  Jesus  Christ  is 
on  the  helm  of  this  universe.  Satan  is  an  intruder, 
an  interloper,  a  rebel.  He  is  to  be  utterly  cast  out. 
Believers  are  to  be  more  than  conquerors  over  all 
their  spiritual  foes.  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Captain 
of  our  Salvation  has  thrust  out  the  enemy  and 
overcome  the  world.  His  cross  was  really  his 
throne,  and  thereon  he  spoiled  principalities  and 
powers.  All  about  us  in  our  city  to-day  are  abodes 
of  sin,  houses  of  shame,  saloons  and  their  degrading 
influences.  The  word  of  God  from  the  throne  of 
God  is  "Destroy  them."  God  has  been  our  refuge 
in  all  the  past  of  our  national  life.  He  was  the 
God  of  our  fathers,  he  is  our  God,  and  he  will  be 
the  God  of  our  children.  Almighty  God  utters  to- 
day concerning  all  the  evils  about  us,  this  old  com- 
mand, "  Destroy  them."  O  men  and  women,  trust 
God  as  your  refuge,  lean  upon  him  as  your  sup- 
port, follow  him  as  your  leader ;  and  through  life, 
across  the  river  of  death,  through  the  gates  of 
pearl,  and  along  the  streets  of  gold  he  will  be  your 
"all  and  in  all"  in  time  and  in  eternity. 


THE  MASTICATED  WORD 


Thy  words  were  found,  and  I  did  eat  them ;  and  thy 
luord  was  unto  me  the  joy  and  rejoicing  of  mitte  heart  : 
for  I  am  called  by  thy  name,  O  Lord  Cod  of  hosts. — fer. 
13  :  16. 


XI 

JEREMIAH  was  called  when  young  to  be  a 
prophet ;  at  Anathoth,  the  place  of  his  birth, 

he  first  exercised  his  prophetic  office.  He  soon 
became  the  subject  of  persecution,  both  from  his 
townsmen  and  his  kinsmen.  Later  in  Jerusalem 
he  experienced  similar  trials.  While  the  pious 
king  Josiah  ruled,  Jeremiah  received  constant  aid 
in  his  efforts  to  abolish  idolatry  and  to  establish 
true  religion.  But  under  Jehoahaz  a  great  change 
was  experienced  by  Jeremiah,  and  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent spirit  pervaded  the  city  and  country.  Idola- 
try was  revived,  and  Jeremiah's  warning  prophecies 
were  disregarded,  and  he  himself  was  bitterly  per- 
secuted. He  foretold  the  captivity  in  Babylon 
and  the  fall  of  Babylon  itself.  But  all  his  warn- 
ings were  unheeded,  and  his  fidelity  even  endan- 
gered his  life.  When  Nebuchadnezzar  captured 
Jerusalem  Jeremiah  was  a  prisoner  because  of  his 
loyalty  to  the  truth.  Finally  he  was  carried  to 
Egypt  with  the  remnant  of  the  Jews  b.  c.  586. 

His  mildness,  sensitiveness,  and  modesty  made 
his  trying  duties  the  more  severe ;  but  he  feared 
no  danger  and  braved  every  form  of  opposition 
when  duty  called  him  into  rough  paths.  His  bitter 
warnings  were  often  more  painful  to  himself  than 
to  the  people  whom  he  addressed.     Nothing  could 

169 


I/O  THE    MASTICATED    WORD 

Stay  the  downward  tendency  of  his  infatuated 
countrymen.  In  a  spirit  of  loyalty  to  God  and  of 
patriotism  to  his  country  and  people  he  himself 
shared  in  the  sorrows  which  his  earnest  appeals 
and  solemn  warnings  could  not  avert.  One  ele- 
ment of  his  strength  in  the  performance  of  his 
trying  duties  was  his  personal  experience  of  the 
preciousness  of  the  word  of  God.  He  could  not 
but  declare  to  others  the  truth  which  had  been  so 
blessed  to  his  own  soul.  No  man  can  really  preach 
above  his  own  experience.  No  man  can  power- 
fully move  others  by  the  word  of  God  who  has  not 
been  himself  powerfully  moved  by  that  same  word. 
The  minister  who  is  cold  and  official  can  never 
subdue  and  constrain  the  hearts  of  the  hearers. 
Only  he  who  has  known  God  as  a  personal  friend 
and  Saviour  can  recommend  him  as  such  to  others. 
Jeremiah  received  the  word  into  his  own  heart,  and 
out  of  the  fullness  of  his  own  heart  his  lips  spoke. 
The  heart  must  unite  with  the  head  if  the  pulpit 
is  to  be  a  throne  of  power.  Heartless  preaching 
of  the  word  of  God  can  quickly  be  discovered  even 
by  those  who  are  themselves  heartless  in  the  serv- 
ice of  God.  The  mastication  of  the  word  is  the 
very  heart  of  this  text  ;  but  it  gives  other  helpful 
truths  and  suggestive  hints  in  our  relation  to  the 
discovery  and  declaration  of  the  word  of  God. 

I .  IVe  Jiave  in  the  study  of  this  text  the  word  dis- 
covered— "  Thy  zvord  2vas  found."  In  Jeremiah's 
case,  the  finding  of  the  word  v/as  his  conviction 
that  the  message  which  he  received  was  truly  from 


THE    MASTICATED    WORD  I7I 

God.  It  was  of  the  utmost  value  to  him  to  know 
that  the  voice  which  he  heard  was  the  voice  of 
God.  He  had  to  try  the  voices,  as  we  are  in- 
structed to  try  the  spirits.  He  seems  to  have 
had  divine  discrimination  enabling  him  to  distin- 
guish between  the  voice  of  his  own  heart,  the 
voice  of  false  prophets,  and  the  voice  of  God.  The 
man  who  lives  near  to  God  will  be  likely  to  know 
his  Father's  voice.  The  heart  that  is  responsive 
to  the  call  of  God  will  quickly  distinguish  between 
the  call  of  man  and  the  call  of  God.  Only  he 
who  has  mountains  in  his  brain  can  rightly  ap- 
preciate the  everlasting  hills ;  only  he  who  has 
oceans  in  his  soul  can  fully  enjoy  the  waves  and 
music  of  the  shoreless  sea.  So,  rightly  to  see  and 
to  hear  God  we  must  have  the  appropriate  faculty. 
The  pure  in  heart  see  God  here  and  now  ;  the 
obedient  in  soul  hear  God's  voice,  and  immediately 
recognize  it  as  the  voice  of  God  and  not  of  man. 
Jeremiah  lived  in  an  atmosphere  charged  with  the 
presence  of  God  ;  he  therefore  readily,  spontane- 
ously, and  joyously,  "found"  the  word  of  God. 

In  the  sense  in  which  he  found  God's  word  we 
are  not  to  make  that  discovery.  He  had  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  voice  of  man  and  the  voice 
of  God.  We  have  the  inspired  volume  in  our 
hands,  but  there  is  still  a  real  sense  in  which  we 
also  are  to  discover  God's  word.  The  Bible  is 
never  truly  God's  message  to  us  until  it  comes  to 
us  as  if  addressed  to  us  alone.  God's  book  of  rev- 
elation, like  his   book  of  creation,  is  spread  out 


1/2  THE    MASTICATED    WORD 

before  us ;  but  both  books  must  be  studied  be- 
fore they  will  give  up  their  deep  secrets.  God's 
thoughts  are  written  on  rocks  and  trees,  in  rivers 
and  iiowers  ;  but  only  the  attentive  student  inter- 
prets the  divine  thought  in  these  manifold  revela- 
tions. Not  otherwise  is  it  in  the  higher,  fuller, 
and  diviner  revelation  which  we  call  the  Bible. 
There  is  no  contradiction  between  God's  thoughts 
in  the  volume  of  nature,  and  in  the  book  of  inspi- 
ration ;  both  are  from  his  mighty  hand  and  his 
loving  heart.  Nowhere  does  the  Bible  oppose  or 
even  depreciate  the  teaching  of  God  in  creation. 
Science  and  revelation  cannot  be  opposed  to  each 
other ;  all  true  science  is  revelation  within  its 
own  realm  of  thought.  The  word  of  God  gives 
its  deepest  meaning  only  to  careful  and  prayerful 
students.  We  must  be  in  sympathy  with  its 
thought  in  order  fully  to  master  its  thought.  The 
student  of  music  must  be  musical  in  taste  and 
studious  of  purpose.  We  ask  no  more  of  the 
student  of  the  Bible  in  this  respect  than  we  do  of 
all  students  of  any  science  or  art.  The  Bible 
is  God's  fullest  revelation  to  the  children  of  men. 
We  too  often  read  it  in  a  fragmentary  manner ; 
detached  texts  often  lose  the  meaning  which  they 
possess  in  their  original  position.  Our  study  of 
the  Bible  has  too  often  violated  all  laws  of  care- 
ful interpretation.  No  man  could  understand  a 
play  of  Shakespeare  simply  by  studying  a  few  lines 
out  of  their  connection.  In  this  way  texts  from 
any  author  could  be  made  to  mean  almost  anything 


THE    MASTICATED    WORD  1/3 

except  what  the  author  intended  them  to  mean. 
No  man  can  understand  Milton's  "  Paradise  Lost  " 
except  he  read  the  magnificent  epic  from  begin- 
ning to  end.  No  man  can  understand  one  of 
Daniel  Webster's  orations  except  he  be  familiar 
with  its  beginning,  middle,  and  end,  except  he 
know  its  purpose,  and  interpret  all  its  parts  in  the 
light  of  that  purpose.  Tennyson's  poems  could  not 
stand  the  test  of  the  fragmentary  and  torturing 
manner  in  which  the  poems  of  the  Bible  are  often 
treated.  Macaulay's  histories  would  be  meaning- 
less oftentimes  if  subjected  to  the  processes  of 
study  and  interpretation  too  often  applied  to  the 
historical  portions  of  the  Bible.  If  any  Bible  stu- 
dent will  read  the  book  of  Job  through  at  a  single 
sitting  he  will  get  such  a  conception  of  that  book 
in  its  dramatic,  its  poetic,  and  its  didactic  elements 
as  he  never  before  experienced.  But  recently  I 
made  a  test  of  the  method  I  am  now  commending, 
by  reading  this  book  from  beginning  to  end  at  a 
sitting.  As  a  result  of  that  personal  experience  I 
am  ready  to  apply  to  the  book  of  Job  the  strong 
and  eloquent  words  of  Carlyle  when,  apart  from 
all  theories  about  it,  he  calls  it  one  of  the  grandest 
things  ever  written  with  pen,  and  then  adds : 
"  Sublime  sorrow,  sublime  reconciliation  ;  oldest 
choral  melody  as  of  the  heart  of  mankind ;  so  soft 
and  great  as  the  summer  midnight,  as  the  world 
with  its  seas  and  stars  !  There  is  nothing  written, 
I  think,  in  the  Bible,  or  out  of  it,  of  equal  literary 
merit." 


174  THE    MASTICATED    WORD 

Let  the  same  method  be  applied  to  an  Epistle, 
as  for  example,  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians,  and 
I  venture  to  say  that  it  will  be  a  new  chapter  in 
this  matchless  volume,  ever  after  it  has  been  so 
studied.  Mr.  Moody  recommends  the  topical  study 
of  the  Bible ;  he  would  have  us  take  such  a  topic 
as  faith,  hope,  joy,  peace,  light,  love,  and  study  it 
in  different  books,  carefully  discovering  its  mean- 
ing in  its  varied  relations.  This  method  has  its 
advantages,  but  it  is  not  without  its  disadvantages 
as  well.  The  constant  effort  should  be  to  get  the 
writer's  thought  as  it  is  revealed  in  any  portion  of 
the  inspired  volume. 

The  Bible  is  not  one  volume,  but  it  is  a  whole 
library;  in  it  are  contained  all  the  treasures  of 
wisdom  and  learning,  as  they  were  not  found  in 
the  library  of  Alexandria  in  the  olden  time,  nor  are 
found  in  the  libraries  of  Germany,  France,  England, 
and  America,  in  our  own  time.  The  word  of  God 
is  a  torch  in  our  dark  night  and  a  lamp  in  our  life 
journey.  It  is  the  book  of  books,  and  has  survived 
the  literature  of  many  centuries  and  climes,  in  har- 
mony with  the  law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest. 
It  is  a  book  of  greater  antiquity  than  any  other. 
It  is  the  oldest  history  of  the  oldest  events ;  it 
comes  to  us  with  the  loftiest  pretensions  and  de- 
mands for  its  message  an  absolute  acceptance. 

There  is  no  kind  of  history  so  difficult  to  write 
as  biography.  Had  the  Bible  been  written  by  un- 
inspired men  it  would  have  denied,  or  at  least 
minimized,  the  vices  of  its  heroes  ;  it  would  have 


THE    MASTICATED    WORD  1 75 

magnified,  or  created,  their  virtues ;  but  it  dares  to 
tell  the  truth.  In  this  respect  it  differs  from  all 
other  books ;  it  nothing  conceals,  it  nothing  exag- 
gerates, it  sets  down  naught  in  malice.  There  is 
then  a  true  sense  in  which  we,  as  well  as  Jeremiah, 
may  discover  the  word  of  God.  I  urge  you  to 
study  most  diligently  its  inspired  pages ;  read  the 
seraphic  prophecies  of  Isaiah  until  your  own  soul 
shall  glow  with  their  heavenly  ardor  ;  the  glowing 
lyrics  of  David  until  heavenly  poetry  shall  sing 
itself  in  your  own  hearts ;  and  the  rugged  histories 
of  the  olden  time  until  the  events  narrated  shall 
live  again  in  your  own  experience ;  and  thus  shall 
you  discover  God's  word,  and  know  that  you  have 
found  God's  word  because  God's  word  has  found 
you  in  the  deepest  experiences  of  your  own  souls. 

2.  We  have  the  word  appropriated — "/  did  eat 
them."  The  word  of  God  will  do  us  but  little  good 
except  it  become  a  part  of  our  own  souls ;  a 
hungry  man  may  make  a  chemical  analysis  of  bread 
and  starve  while  carrying  on  this  chemical  process. 
Bread  cannot  impart  nutrition,  except  it  be  eaten, 
and  thus  become  a  part  of  bone,  sinew,  and  blood. 
Jeremiah  might  have  rejected  the  word  of  God  ; 
many  reject  it  to  this  day.  Many  wish  to  obey  it 
only  so  far  as  its  truths  harmonize  with  their  own 
desires.  They  practically  make  themselves  supe- 
rior to  the  fullest  revelation  of  God. 

The  Bible  asks  no  favors  from  the  critics  ;  it 
simply  demands  fair  treatment  at  their  hands.  It 
is  willing  to  be  subjected  to  every  form  of  just 


176  THE    MASTICATED    WORD 

criticism.  It  has  passed  through  the  fires  of  crit- 
icism when  they  were  heated  seven  times  hotter 
than  they  have  ever  been  heated  for  testing  any 
other  book,  and  it  has  come  out  of  the  trial  with- 
out the  smell  of  fire  upon  its  pages.  Moses  will 
live  when  all  his  critics  are  utterly  forgotten  ;  and 
the  same  is  true  likewise  of  others  among  the 
writers  of  the  sacred  book  whose  works  have  been 
discredited.  Man  may  tilt  against  the  stars,  but 
they  shine  on  undisturbed  from  their  inaccessible 
heights  and  in  their  unapproachable  beauty. 

But  even  the  literary  endorsement  of  the  Bible 
will  not  give  us  the  best  results  which  it  is  intended 
to  impart.  The  assimilative  process  suggested  by 
the  text  must  take  place,  else  the  heavenly  manna 
will  not  fully  cheer  our  fainting  spirits.  The  di- 
vine word  is  to  be  eaten  ;  its  spirit  is  to  be  taken 
into  our  inner  life  ;  we  must  masticate,  digest,  and 
incorporate  the  heavenly  truth  before  it  will  bring 
forth  its  appropriate  fruits  in  our  daily  life.  This 
is  a  remarkable  expression  here  employed  to  set 
forth  the  completeness  of  this  assimilative  process. 
We  must  actually,  spiritually,  experimentally,  chew, 
masticate,  and  digest  the  living  bread,  that  it  may 
truly  nourish  our  living  souls.  In  the  large  and 
divine  sense,  Jesus  Christ  is  the  true  Word  of  God 
and  the  true  Bread  of  heaven.  He  himself  taught 
us  that  in  this  figurative  and  spiritual  sense  he  was 
to  be  eaten  by  us,  that  he  might  impart  to  us  true 
spiritual  life.  In  our  hurried  lives  we  do  not  med- 
itate  sufficiently  upon   the   word   of    God.      If  it 


THE    MASTICATED    WORD  1 7/ 

would  become  dear  to  us  as  it  was  to  the  psalmist, 
as  he  has  detailed  his  experience  in  the  one  hun- 
dred and  nineteenth  Psalm,  if  it  would  become  our 
meat  and  our  drink  as  it  was  to  many  of  our  fathers 
when  other  books  were  not  so  numerous,  then  we 
might  expect  to  see  the  stalwart  believers  and 
heroic  soldiers  in  the  service  of  God  whose  noble 
services  made  the  church  illustrious  in  the  past. 
Then  would  the  church  be  "clear  as  the  sun,  fair 
as  the  moon,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners." 
3.  We  notice  God's  word  enjoyed — ^^ And  thy 
word  was  unto  me  the  Joy  and  rejoicing  of  mine 
heart''  When  so  appropriated  the  word  of  God 
never  fails  to  give  joy;  it  illumines  the  mind,  it 
purifies  the  heart,  it  ennobles  the  life,  and  it  ap- 
peals to  all  that  is  grandest  in  human  experience. 
The  Bible  has  given  us  all  that  is  most  enduring 
in  painting,  in  sculpture,  in  music,  and  in  poetry. 
It  has  developed  the  highest  genius  in  every  de- 
partment of  human  endeavor.  Take  out  of  the 
great  galleries  of  painting,  the  halls  of  sculpture, 
and  the  libraries  of  the  world,  the  paintings,  sculp- 
tures, and  books,  whose  existence  depended  upon 
the  intellectual  inspiration  and  aesthetic  culture  of 
the  Bible,  and  you  make  these  galleries  and  halls 
and  libraries  poor  indeed.  The  Bible  has  inspired 
the  noblest  music  as  well  as  the  loftiest  poetry ;  it 
has  filled  the  world  with  the  finest  productions  of 
human  genius  ;  it  meets  the  deepest  wants  of  the 
soul ;  it  stimulates  intellect,  imagination,  reason, 
and  aspiration.     The  Psalms  mirror  the  moods  of 

M 


1/8  THE    MASTICATED    WORD 

the  soul,  as  a  placid  lake  mirrors  the  rocks  and 
trees  on  its  banks.  Never  did  any  merely  human 
harp  give  forth  such  lyric  sweetness  as  came  from 
the  harp  of  David  and  filled  the  glens  of  Judah 
with  their  undying  echoes.  Nowhere  else  can  no- 
bler specimens  of  history,  biography,  poetry,  and 
logic  be  found  than  are  within  the  lids  of  the  Bible. 
Some  of  the  chapters  of  the  Apostle  Paul  in  his 
Epistle  to  the  Romans  have  been  studied  by  stu- 
dents of  law  as  models  of  syllogistic  reasoning. 

The  day  will  come,  and  that  before  long,  when 
the  Bible  will  be  a  text-book  in  all  the  colleges  of 
America.  Its  literary  merits  alone  entitle  it  to 
this  recognition.  Why  should  we  study  Heroditus 
and  not  Moses,  who  is  the  true  father  of  history } 
Why  should  we  study  Homer  and  not  Isaiah,  who 
surpasses  the  epic  poets  of  Greece .-'  Why  should 
we  study  Aristotle  and  neglect  the  noble  Paul .-' 

God's  word  brings  God  and  the  soul  into  a 
wonderful  nearness,  and  into  a  blessed  oneness  ; 
coming  from  God,  the  Bible  leads  to  God  its  divine 
author.  It  is  the  ripe  product  of  ripe  minds  under 
divine  inspiration.  Its  bards  stood  with  uncovered 
head  in  the  presence  of  God  and  sang  to  the  world 
the  songs  taught  them  by  heaven.  They  were 
conscious  of  the  immediate  presence  of  God,  giv- 
ing inspiration  to  their  thoughts  and  eloquence  to 
their  words.  They  lived  over  again  the  thoughts 
of  the  Eternal.  As  we  appropriate  God's  word 
we  too  may  live  over  these  thoughts  until  they 
become  a  part  of   our  mental   and  moral  nature. 


THE    MASTICATED    WORD  1 79 

We  may  hold  large  portions  of  the  word  of  God  in 
solution  in  our  minds.  No  one  could  hear  the 
prayers  of  the  late  Mr,  Spurgeon  without  appre- 
ciating the  fact  that  the  thoughts  of  God  colored 
all  his  own  thoughts  as  he  drew  near  to  God  in 
prayer.  The  atmosphere  of  God  was  diffused 
from  his  pulpit,  especially  as  he  approached  the 
throne  of  the  heavenly  grace.  The  same  remark 
will  apply  in  part  to  the  sermons  and  prayers  of 
both  his  sons.  We  may  so  live  with  certain  writers 
as  to  catch  their  spirit  and  largely  re-live  their 
lives. 

Alexander  the  Great  made  the  Homeric  he- 
roes his  ideals  ;  he  carried  a  copy  of  the  "  Iliad" 
with  him  on  his  marches  and  into  his  battles,  and 
incarnated  the  poet's  heroic  conceptions  in  his 
own  daring  life.  It  is  possible  for  a  man  to  sit 
in  his  library  and  hold  communion  with  the  mighty 
dead  whose  thoughts  still  breathe  and  burn  in  the 
volumes  on  his  shelves.  It  is  marvelous  that  a 
man  can  thus  live  with  the  spirits  of  the  immortals 
who  have  long  passed  from  time  to  eternity.  He 
can  master  their  thoughts,  breathe  their  atmos- 
phere, and  in  a  measure  reproduce  their  lives. 
He  may  thus  enjoy  their  fellowship  as  if  he  lived 
in  their  time  and  walked  in  their  company.  You 
can  sometimes  discover  by  the  man  himself  what 
books  he  reads,  what  ideals  he  imitates,  and  whose 
inspirations  are  his  aspirations.  A  man's  life  is  the 
reproduction  and  interblending  of  many  lives  whose 
streams  flow  into  his  own  soul.      How  much  more 


l80  THE    MASTICATED    WORD 

of  God  as  he  is  revealed  in  his  word  we  might  en- 
joy !  One  scarcely  dares  say  how  much  of  God  it 
is  possible  for  a  human  life  to  possess.  If  we  are 
born  of  God,  we  are,  as  the  Apostle  Paul  affirms, 
"partakers  of  the  divine  nature."  We  are  to  be 
filled  with  God  ;  we  are  to  share  in  his  divine  full- 
ness of  life  and  love.  This  is  the  beatification  of 
human  experience ;  it  is  a  foretaste  of  our  divine 
glorification,  when  we  shall  see  Jesus  as  he  is  and 
be  satisfied  as  we  awake  in  his  likeness. 

4.  We  tiotice,  and  in  the  last  place,  God' s  ivord 
acknozvledged — "  For  I  am  called  by  thy  name,  O 
Lord  God  of  hosts.''  Jeremiah  came,  in  some 
measure,  to  possess  and  to  manifest  the  character 
of  God.  We  are  told  that  Scipio  Africanus  was 
hardly  ever  without  a  copy  of  Xenophon's  writings. 
He  came  to  possess  and  to  manifest  much  of  the 
character  of  the  author  so  studied  and  lived.  It  is 
said  that  Bishop  Jewell  could  recite  all  of  the 
poems  of  Horace,  and  that  those  poems  greatly 
shaped  his  thought  and  speech.  It  is  also  affirmed 
that  Beza,  when  over  eighty,  could  repeat  all  the 
Epistles  of  Paul  in  the  original  Greek,  and  all  of 
Psalms  in  the  original  Hebrew.  That  fact  alone 
would  explain  much  in  his  own  life  as  to  his  clear- 
ness of  thinking  and  correctness  of  writing.  On 
coming  into  this  close  relation  with  the  revealed, 
and  especially  with  the  incarnate  Word  of  God,  we 
shall  so  partake  of  the  character  of  God,  that  we 
may  be  known  by  the  world  as  men  of  God.  In 
this  way  it   came  to  pass  that  those  who  knew 


THE    MASTICATED    WORD  l8l 


Jeremiah  recognized  the  godly  character  which  he 
possessed,  and  they  gave  him  God's  name. 

The  beloved  missionary,  Judson,  was  known  as 
"Jesus  Christ's  man."  Every  Christian  is  a 
"Christ  man."  There  ought  to  be  as  little  dif- 
ference between  a  Christian  and  a  Christ  man  as 
there  is  between  the  spelling  of  the  two  words. 
If  we  live  with  Christ,  we  shall  gain  his  image ;  if 
we  live  with  him,  men  will  surely  take  knowledge 
of  us,  that  we  so  live,  and  that  we  possess  and 
manifest  his  character.  Men  who  thus  feed  upon 
God  and  his  word,  come  to  possess  the  characteris- 
tics of  both,  so  that  the  world  must  recognize  the 
divine  lineaments  even  in  their  faces.  Homely 
men  when  ungodly,  become  divinely  beautiful 
when  they  have  long  lived  godly  lives.  Pure 
thoughts  reveal  themselves  in  pure  faces;  the 
grasp  of  the  hand,  the  tone  of  the  voice,  and  the 
glance  of  the  eye,  will  often  tell  of  the  indwelling 
of  Jesus  Christ  in  a  man's  soul.  Faces  to-day 
may  shine  as  did  the  face  of  Moses  when  he  came 
down  from  the  mount  of  communion  with  God. 

To-day  some  men  hesitate  to  acknowledge  God 
and  his  word  ;  but  the  day  is  coming  when  such 
an  acknowledgment  will  be  the  highest  honor 
that  men  can  desire  or  possess.  To-day  I  offer 
you  Jesus  Christ  as  the  incarnate  Word  of  God. 
Have  you  found  him  ?  Do  you  know  him  ?  Do 
you  live  with  him  ^  Do  you  know  him  as  the 
Bread  of  heaven  ?  Have  you  appropriated,  masti- 
cated,  incorporated  that  heavenly  food.?      If   so, 


162  THE    MASTICATED    WORD 

you  can  live  the  heavenly  life ;  if  so,  you  have 
meat  to  eat  of  which  the  world  knows  nothing. 
Have  you  enjoyed  this  heavenly  word  ?  If  not, 
your  highest  enjoyment  thus  far  has  been  but  a 
child's  experience  compared  with  the  fuller  enjoy- 
ment which  awaits  you.  Have  you  acknowledged 
this  heavenly  word  by  the  public  profession  of 
your  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  ?  With  the  heart  we 
are  to  believe  unto  righteousness,  and  with  the 
mouth  confession  is  made  unto  salvation. 

Blessed  are  they  who  have  tasted  that  the  Lord 
is  gracious,  who  are  even  now  living  the  heavenly 
life  while  they  are  upon  the  earth,  for  they  at  last 
shall  see  Jesus  face  to  face,  and  shall  be  satisfied 
by  awaking  in  his  glorious  character,  his  heavenly 
beauty,  and  his  perfect  likeness. 


THE  WONDERFUL  ENGRAVING 


Behold,  I  have  graven  thee  upon  the  palms  of  )ny  hands. 
-Isa.  4g :  i6. 


XII 

THIS  text  is  a  diamond  truth  in  a  setting  of 
gems.  My  subject  this  morning  is  The  Di- 
vine Engraving.  It  is  the  most  wonderful  engrav- 
ing which  history  or  tradition,  mythology  or  the- 
ology, has  ever  known.  Doubtless  the  original 
application  of  this  text  and  context  was  to  God's 
people  in  their  lonely  exile  in  Babylon ;  and  their 
restoration  from  that  exile  is  in  the  mind  of  the 
inspired  writer  all  the  way  through  this  remarkable 
chapter.  It  was  natural  for  the  people  of  God 
during  that  period  of  banishment  to  feel  that  God 
had  utterly  forgotten  them.  Their  spirits  sank 
within  them  ;  their  harps  hung  upon  the  willows  ; 
and  they  had  no  heart  to  sing  in  a  strange  land 
one  of  the  songs  of  Zion.  They  felt  that  a  song 
of  Zion  sung  simply  for  the  entertainment  of  the 
heathen  would  have  been  nothing  less  than  sacri- 
lege. There  is  also  in  this  chapter  a  reference  to 
the  Messiah,  and  to  the  greater  deliverance  which 
he  would  bring  to  the  spiritual  people  of  God,  and 
which  would  be  offered  to  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  A  prophecy  may  have  many  fulfillments. 
We  thus  see  that  there  is  here  a  reference  to  the 
coming  of  the  Messiah,  and  to  the  comforting  fact 
that  he  would  be  a  Saviour  to  the  Gentiles  as  well 
as  to  the  Jews. 

i8S 


I  86  THE    WONDERFUL    ENGRAVING 

This  text,  therefore,  is  for  every  child  of  God. 
It  is  for  you,  it  is  for  me,  if  this  morning  you  and 
I  by  a  simple,  loving,  loyal  faith  are  trusting  in 
Jesus  Christ  as  our  personal  Lord  and  Saviour. 
Permit  me  to  call  your  attention  to  some  of  the 
characteristics  of  this  wonderful  engraving,  as  these 
characteristics  are  suggested  in  the  text. 

I.  TJiis  engraving  is  ivo7iderfnl,  in  tJie  first  place, 
because  of  the  persotiality  of  the  engraver — "  Behold, 
/  have  graven  thee  on  the  palms  of  my  hands." 
The  engraver  is  the  eternal  Jehovah.  God  conde- 
scends to  engrave  his  people  upon  the  palms  of  his 
hands  !  No  wonder  that  the  text  is  introduced 
with  the  word  "behold,"  a  word  expressive  of  great 
wonder.  The  statement  which  follows  this  word 
is  so  wonderful  that  it  may  well  challenge  the 
thoughts  of  devils,  men,  and  angels.  It  is  so  won- 
derful that  God  properly  introduces  it  to  men  with 
the  word  "behold."  If  I  may  say  so  with  becom- 
ing reverence,  it  is  so  wonderful  that  it  excites  the 
admiration  of  God  himself.  It  is  one  of  the  won- 
ders, not  of  earth  alone,  but  of  heaven  as  well ;  it 
must  create  surprise  among  saints  and  seraphs  be- 
fore God's  great  throne.  The  personality  of  the 
engraver  always  adds  greatly  to  the  value  of  an 
engraving,  if  the  engraver  be  famous.  You  may 
remember  that  in  the  Museo  Real,  the  royal  picture 
gallery  of  Madrid,  the  museum  which  is  said  to  con- 
tain more  wealth  in  pictures  than  any  other  gallery 
on  the  Continent,  great  importance  is  attached  to 
the    paintings    bearing   the    names    of    the   great 


THE    WONDERFUL    ENGRAVING  1 87 

artists.  The  numbers  of  paintings  are  given  :  ten 
by  Raphael,  forty-six  by  Murillo,  and  sixty-two  by 
Velasquez,  and  other  immortal  painters.  Here  the 
works  of  Velasquez  are  seen  in  all  their  glory.  He 
and  Murillo  are  the  masters  of  the  Spanish  school 
of  painters.  The  marks  of  genius  associated  with 
the  names  of  the  artists  give  unique  value  to  their 
work.  Its  genuineness  is  its  charm.  What  adds 
value  to  many  documents  is  the  signature.  Why 
do  we  still  talk  of  "signing  "  our  name.  We  say, 
"sign  your  name,"  not  write  your  name;  and  in 
that  fact  is  wrapped  up  an  interesting  bit  of  medi- 
eval history.  The  old  barons,  brave  soldiers,  chiv- 
alrous knights,  and  powerful  kings,  often  could  not 
write  their  names.  They  could  fight,  but  they 
could  not  write.  They  had,  therefore,  their  sign, 
and  they  stamped  it  on  official  papers ;  sometimes 
this  sign  was  a  cross,  sometimes  some  other  design  ; 
sometimes  it  was  part  of  the  hilt  of  the  sword,  and 
sometimes  it  was  part  of  a  ring  or  seal,  hence  the 
significance  of  the  name — signet  ring,  a  ring  con- 
taining a  signet  or  private  seal.  Thus  we  have 
this  curious  bit  of  history  in  our  modern  phrase- 
ology, even  though  few  stop  to  think  of  it,  as  often 
as  we  speak  of  signing  our  name.  It  is  a  wonder- 
ful thought  that  the  sign-manual  of  God  is  on  this 
marvelous  engraving.  It  is  that  sign-manual  that 
adds  so  greatly  to  its  value.  The  greatest  auto- 
graph collector  now  living  has  recently  offered  an 
enormous  sum  for  a  supposed  letter  of  Shakes- 
peare.    The  forgery  of  Shakespeare's  name  would 


l88  THE    WONDERFUL    ENGRAVING 

destroy  the  value  of  the  letter ;  it  is  in  the  reality 
of  the  signature  that  the  value  consists.  The  sign- 
manual  of  the  cross  of  the  Son  of  God  is  on  this 
divine  engraving. 

God  is  the  greatest  of  painters.  He  hangs, 
morning  by  morning  and  evening  by  evening,  in 
the  sky  marvelous  productions  of  his  delicate  hand 
and  his  divine  heart.  We  traverse  sea  and  conti- 
nent to  find  the  masterpieces  of  great  sculptors  and 
painters,  and  we  do  well.  Twice,  at  least,  in  my  life 
have  I  been  able  without  guide  or  guide-book  to 
pick  out  masterpieces  in  two  galleries.  Coming  un- 
expectedly upon  the  Venus  de  Milo  in  the  Louvre, 
and  suddenly  upon  Murillo's  masterpiece,  the  Ma- 
donna, in  Madrid,  I  felt  the  inspiration  of  genius 
before  stopping  to  think  who  the  artists  were  or 
what  were  the  subjects  of  their  artistic  skill.  We 
do  well  to  recognize  genius  in  man.  But  why  do 
we  pass  over  the  masterpieces  of  God  ?  Earth  and 
air,  sea  and  sky,  are  filled  with  God,  if  only  our 
hearts  are  open  to  hear  his  voice  and  our  eyes  to 
see  his  handiwork. 

We  thus  see  that  the  personality  of  the  engraver 
adds  greatly  to  the  value  of  the  engraving ;  and  the 
personality  in  the  text  also  shows  the  lovingkind- 
ness  and  unwavering  faithfulness  of  God.  My  text 
is  God's  answer  to  Zion's  complaint  as  given  in  the 
fourteenth  verse  of  this  chapter  :  "  The  Lord  hath 
forsaken  me,  and  my  Lord  hath  forgotten  me." 
During  their  great  trials  many  of  the  people 
thought  God  had  forgotten  them  ;  to  them,  there- 


THE    WONDERFUL    ENGRAVING  1 89 

fore,  the  text  primarily  applies.  But  the  language 
is  applicable  not  only  to  the  period  of  captivity,  but 
to  the  long  period  of  spiritual  banishment  from 
God  when  holy  souls  were  longing  for  the  revival 
of  God's  work  and  for  a  time  of  spiritual  refresh- 
ing from  the  presence  of  the  Lord.  The  text, 
broadly  considered,  applies  to  all  who  are  striving 
for  the  triumph  of  good  over  evil,  of  right  over 
wrong,  of  light  over  darkness,  and  of  Christ  over 
Satan. 

God  gives,  in  connection  with  Zion's  complaint, 
two  arguments  for  the  encouragement  of  his 
people.  In  the  fifteenth  verse  his  love  is  shown 
to  be  stronger  than  that  of  the  mother  for  her 
infant  child.  It  would  indeed  be  strange  for  a 
mother  to  forsake  her  helpless  babe ;  but  often  in 
heathen,  and  occasionally  in  Christian  lands, 
mothers  are  so  forgetful  and  so  cruel  as  to  for- 
sake their  helpless  infants.  But  God  affirms  that 
though  the  mother  may  forget  her  babe  in  its 
greatest  need  and  in  her  most  tender  ministries, 
he  would  never,  no  never,  forsake  his  children.  It 
is  interesting  to  see  how  the  Bible  takes  up  the 
tenderest  of  human  relations  in  order  to  represent 
the  blessedness  of  God's  relations  to  the  church 
and  to  individual  souls.  The  Bible  represents 
God  as  a  husband  and  the  church  as  his  beautiful 
bride.  The  Apostle  Paul  amplifies  this  thought 
and  emphasizes  the  truth  which  it  so  tenderly 
teaches.  As  members  of  the  church  of  Christ 
we  may  reverently  say  that   we  are  married   to 


190  THE    WONDERFUL    ENGRAVING 

God,  and  that  he  is  our  eternal  husband.  God 
furthermore  represents  himself  as  a  father,  say- 
ing :  "  Like  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children,  so  the 
Lord  pitieth  them  that  fear  him."  He  also  speaks 
of  himself  as  a  mother,  saying:  "As  one  whom 
his  mother  comforteth,  so  will  I  comfort  you." 
He  speaks  of  himself  in  the  text  of  this  morning 
as  going  far  beyond  a  mother's  love,  for  no  mother 
has  graven  her  child  upon  the  palms  of  her  hands. 
Why  should  we  ever  doubt  God's  love  .-'  We  may 
well  be  surprised  and  ashamed  at  our  faithless- 
ness, while  we  are  surprised,  humiliated,  and 
blessed  with  God's  lovingkindness.  His  love  is 
the  wonder  of  wonders.  In  order  to  banish  our 
fears  and  comfort  our  hearts  he  gives  us  strand 
after  strand  wound  together  in  this  cable  of  heav- 
enly love.  Here  is  assurance  made  doubly  sure. 
God's  unchanging,  immeasurable,  eternal  love.  Let 
us  sing  it ;  let  us  rejoice  in  it  ;  let  us  tell  it  out  to 
all  about  us.  God's  unmerited,  matchless,  bound- 
less love.     Glory  forever  be  to  his  great  name. 

2.  But  I  ask  yon  to  notice,  hi  the  second  place,  that 
the  engraving  itself  is  wonderfnl — "  Behold  I  have 
graven,''  etc.  Let  us  look  at  its  significance. 
Various  interpretations  are  given  to  the  language 
of  the  text.  Some  suppose  that  it  refers  to  the 
custom  of  placing  a  string  on  the  finger,  or  on  the 
wrist,  or  some  other  part  of  the  hand,  to  remind 
us  of  something  which  otherwise  might  be  for- 
gotten. The  latter  part  of  the  verse  may  allude 
to  the  custom  of  architects,  then  as  now,  of  mak- 


THE    WONDERFUL    ENGRAVING  I91 


ing  drawings  of  the  form  and  proportions  of  a 
building  before  its  erection  has  been  begun.  The 
idea  would  be  that  God  had  drawn  a  plan  of  Je- 
rusalem on  his  hands  long  before  the  city  had 
been  founded,  so  that  it  became,  so  to  speak,  a 
part  of  his  own  personality.  Others  have  sup- 
posed that  the  reference  is  to  a  design  on  a  signet 
ring  worn  on  the  finger ;  but  it  seems  better  still 
to  believe  that  the  allusion  is  to  some  practice  of 
making  marks  on  the  hands  and  arms  by  means 
of  punctures  and  indelible  ink.  These  punctures 
at  times  were  signs  or  representations  of  the 
temple,  to  show  the  personal  loyalty  of  devotees 
to  their  ancient  faith.  It  was  once,  and  still  is  to 
some  degree,  a  custom  in  many  parts  of  the  East, 
especially  on  the  part  of  pilgrims  to  the  Holy 
Sepulchre,  to  mark  parts  of  the  body  in  this  way. 
These  various  marks  are  called  "the  signs  of 
Jerusalem  "  ;  and  the  pilgrims  bearing  these  marks 
show  them  with  pride  to  their  relatives  in  far-dis- 
tant countries.  These  marks  conclusively  prove 
that  those  bearing  them  have  visited  the  Holy 
Sepulchre;  they  thus  become  sacred  souvenirs 
and  meritorious  signs.  Just  as  travelers  make 
marks  upon  their  alpenstocks  to  indicate  that  they 
have  climbed  certain  mountains,  so  these  pilgrims 
mark  themselves  to  show  that  they  have  kept  some 
vow,  or  performed  some  other  act  of  special  devo- 
tion. In  many  parts  of  Palestine  Arab  women 
may  be  seen  with  marks  about  the  face,  especially 
on  the  chin  and  on  the  sides  of  the  mouth,  to  tell 


192  THE    WONDERFUL    ENGRAVING 

certain  facts  in  their  history,  certain  relations  in 
their  social  life,  and  perhaps  with  the  strangely 
mistaken  idea  of  adding  to  their  beauty.  In  India 
travelers  see  large  numbers  of  Hindu  pilgrims 
with  various  marks  on  the  forehead  indicating  the 
caste  to  which  they  belong,  and  also  serving  other 
purposes  which  it  is  difficult  for  us  fully  to  under- 
stand. 

It  is  interesting  to  see  how  God  takes  advantage 
of  these  local  customs  in  order  to  set  forth  in 
stronger  terms  his  heavenly  truth.  This  engrav- 
ing abides.  God  is  its  author,  his  child  is  its  sub- 
ject. God  makes  no  mistakes  in  his  engravings. 
No  foe  of  our  souls  can  reach  God's  palms  to  blot 
out  or  deface  God's  engraving  there.  Socrates,  in 
the  night  of  pagan  darkness,  dared  to  think  of  the 
gods  as  loving  men  even  as  a  mother  loves  her 
child.  This  Grecian  sage  longed  for  fuller  light. 
Addressing  himself  on  one  occasion  to  his  dis- 
ciples he  bore  testimony  to  the  overruling  provi- 
dence of  God,  endorsing  the  allusions  in  the  in- 
comparable Homer,  when  he  likens  the  deity  to  a 
mother  who  with  gentle  hand  fans  the  flies  from 
her  babe's  face  ;  so  this  heathen  sage  represented 
God  as  driving  away  difficulties  from  before  his 
children.  Among  the  disciples  of  Socrates  was 
Critias,  the  traitor,  who  afterward  condemned 
Socrates  to  death,  and  he  laughed  and  mocked  at 
the  comparison,  considering  it  dishonoring  in  the 
deity  to  be  concerned  in  matters  so  trifling.  So- 
crates   rebuked    him,    reminding    him    that    this 


THE    WONDERFUL    ENGRAVING  1 93 

thought  of  God  exalted  us  toward  God  instead  of 
lowering  God  toward  us.  The  malice  of  Critias 
did  much  to  secure  the  condemnation  of  Socrates 
to  death  ;  but  in  answer  to  his  sneer,  Socrates  re- 
mained calm,  rejoicing  that  the  gods  now  gave  him 
rest  after  his  day's  work  was  completed. 

We  need  to-day  the  rebuke  which  the  heathen 
sage  gave  to  his  critic.  There  are  men  who  be- 
lieve in  a  general,  but  utterly  deny  a  special,  provi- 
dence of  God.  But  there  can  be  no  general  provi- 
dence if  there  is  not  a  special  providence.  A 
general  providence  is  only  an  aggregation  of  special 
providences.  He  would  be  deemed  an  utterly  irre- 
sponsible speaker  who  should  say  that  an  army 
perished  but  no  particular  soldier  was  killed.  A 
general  providence  is  the  marshaling  and  accumu- 
lation of  special  providences  ;  so  that  there  can 
be  no  general  providence  except  as  there  are 
special  providences.  Some  think  it  beneath  the 
character  of  God  to  note  the  sparrow's  fall  and  to 
count  the  hairs  of  our  head.  Christ  did  not  so 
teach  regarding  his  Father's  notice  of  his  children. 
We  utterly  misunderstand  God  if  we  think  we 
magnify  his  greatness  by  setting  him  apart  from 
our  sorrows  in  the  daily  walks  of  life.  If  God  is 
our  father,  then  all  the  concerns  of  his  children 
are  dear  to  his  heart.  It  has  been  well  said,  in 
substance,  that  with  one  hand  God  may  be  making 
a  ring  of  a  hundred  thousand  miles  in  diameter  to 
revolve  about  a  planet  like  Saturn,  while  with  the 
other  hand  he  may  be  giving  color  to  the  feathers 


194  THE    WONDERFUL    ENGRAVING 

of  a  humming  bird,  or  form  and  perfume  to  a 
flower.  God's  greatness  in  dyeing  a  feather  or 
shading  the  petal  of  a  rose  is  as  truly  divine  as  in 
holding  the  planets  in  their  orbits.  Preservation 
is  only  another  form  of  creation.  God's  greatness 
is  truly  manifested  in  his  care  for  what  we  weakly 
call  little  things  ;  with  God  nothing  is  little  and 
nothing  is  great. 

I  do  not  know  but  that  the  microscope  shows 
more  of  God's  wisdom  and  power  than  does  the 
telescope.  I  do  not  know  but  that  the  student  of 
botany  sees  more  of  God  than  does  the  student 
of  astronomy.  Away,  away  with  the  idea  that 
you  honor  God  when  you  enthrone  him  in  some 
dreamy  existence  like  that  imputed  to  Buddha  by 
his  followers,  who  make  him  in  many  ways  indif- 
ferent to  the  call  of  his  worshipers.  God  bends 
his  ear  to  the  feeble  cry  of  his  weakest  child.  I 
honor  that  conception  of  God  which  gives  him 
the  heart  of  a  mother  and  the  arm  of  divinity. 
O  wondrous  God,  thou  art  in  tenderness  father 
and  mother  both  to  those  who  trust  thee  ;  and  yet 
thou  hast  an  arm  for  the  protection  of  thy  saints 
that  can  hurl  the  thunderbolts  of  heaven,  and 
stop  the  stars  in  their  courses,  making  them  fight 
against  thy  foes. 

3.  Notice  now,  in  the  third  place,  that  the  won- 
der of  this  engraving  is  much  increased  wJien  we  re- 
member its  subject — "  Behold  I  have  graven  thee!' 
Thee,  my  brother,  thee,  my  sister,  thee,  my  little 
girl,  thee,  my  little  boy  ;  "  behold  I  have  engraven 


THE    WONDERFUL    ENGRAVING  1 95 

thee"  There  is  a  wonderful  personality  in  all 
God's  relations  to  the  children  of  men.  We 
stand  each  before  God  as  if  each  man  and  woman 
were  the  only  person  in  the  entire  universe.  Je- 
sus showed  a  most  discriminating  sympathy  with 
men  and  women.  He  loved  them  in  masses  be- 
cause he  loved  them  as  individuals.  He  loved  all 
because  he  loved  each  with  a  personal  affection. 

I  wonder  how  it  came  to  pass  that  the  angel  at 
the  empty  tomb  on  the  morning  of  the  resurrec- 
tion, said  to  the  women  :  "  Tell  his  disciples  and 
Peter."  Who  told  the  angel  to  give  that  message 
to  the  women  .''  Jesus  amid  all  the  glory  of  that 
resurrection  morn,  going  forth  leading  death  and 
hell  in  captivity,  doubtless  specially  remembered 
and  named  the  poor  repentant  and  broken-hearted 
Peter — "Tell  his  disciples  and  Peter."  Think  of 
this  discriminating  love !  Who  told  Jesus  of  the 
test  Thomas  had  proposed  .-*  A  week  passes,  and 
so  far  as  I  know,  none  of  the  disciples  had  seen 
Jesus  during  that  time.  Now  they  meet  and 
Thomas  is  with  them,  and  Jesus  immediately  says 
to  Thomas,  "Reach  hither  thy  finger,  and  behold 
my  hands  ;  and  reach  hither  thy  hand  and  thrust  it 
into  my  side;  and  be  not  faithless  but  believing." 
In  a  moment  Thomas  is  saying,  "  My  Lord  and 
my  God."  Oh,  the  individuality,  the  personality, 
the  discriminateness  of  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ ! 
Then  there  is  the  case  of  Zaccheus,  the  little 
fellow,  so  short  of  stature  that  he  cannot  see  Je- 
sus except  by  resorting  to  a  method  which,  to  say 


196  THE    WONDERFUL    ENGRAVING 

the  least,  seems  likely  to  compromise  his  standing 
among  the  men  of  his  class.  He  climbs  a  tree 
like  a  boy.  He  will  hide  himself  behind  the  leafy 
screen  of  the  sycamore's  branches ;  but  Jesus 
looked  up  into  the  tree  and  said,  "  Zaccheus,  come 
down."  He  does  not  wait  for  the  subject  to  in- 
vite the  king,  but  like  a  true  king,  in  royal  conde- 
scension, he  invites  himself  to  the  home  of  a  sub- 
ject. See  that  woman,  timid,  hesitating,  shrink- 
ing, going  through  the  crowd  and  pushing  her 
hand  forward  until  her  fingers  touched  the  tassel 
or  fringe  of  Christ's  robe.  Now  she  would  shrink 
away  with  her  stolen  blessing  which,  if  unac- 
knowledged, would  be  only  half  a  blessing.  "  Who 
touched  me.''"  The  disciples  were  astonished 
that  Christ  should  ask  this  question,  because  the 
multitude  was  thronging  him.  But  Jesus  had  an 
inward  consciousness  that  virtue,  or  power,  had 
gone  out  of  him.  Others  touched  him,  but  theirs 
was  not  the  touch  of  faith.  Her  touch  reached 
beyond  the  fringe  of  his  mantle,  it  went  to  his  di- 
vine heart  and  soul.  So  Jesus  said,  "  Somebody 
hath  touched  me."  O  men  and  women,  let  us 
touch  him  with  the  finger  of  our  faith  to-day. 
Touch  his  garment  with  the  finger  of  your  neces- 
sity ;  touch  his  heart  with  your  earnest  prayer. 
He  will  bend  from  his  throne  to  say,  "  somebody 
hath  touched  me."  Thank  God,  we  have  an  high 
priest  who  can  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our 
infirmities. 

It    would    be    unspeakably   wonderful    if    your 


THE    WONDERFUL    ENGRAVING  1 97 

name  were  graven  on  God's  hands  ;  but  a  more 
wonderful  thing,  I  am  quite  sure,  has  been  per- 
formed. It  is  not  your  name  alone  that  is  graven 
there,  but  your  face,  your  form,  yourself ;  your 
troubles,  your  sorrows,  your  failures,  your  weak- 
nesses, all  are  graven  there.  You  have  had  your 
ups  and  downs  during  the  past  week,  and  all  these 
experiences  are  graven  on  God's  hands.  All  our 
concernments  are  dear  to  God.  We  have  tripped, 
we  have  failed,  we  have  hesitated,  we  have  doubted  ; 
all  this  history  is  on  God's  hands.  "  I  have  graven 
thee  !"  I  am  overwhelmed  ;  I  am  silent  with  as- 
tonishment in  the  presence  of  so  precious  and  sub- 
lime a  truth  as  that.  Does  God  care  that  much 
for  me,  that  much  for  you }  "  I  have  graven  thee 
on  the  palms  of  my  hands."  Be  astonished,  O 
earth,  be  silent,  O  my  soul,  and  muse  in  wonder, 
love,  and  praise. 

4.  There  is  just  one  other  thought  of  which  I  shall 
speak.  The  zvonder  of  this  engraving  is  enhanced 
zuhen  we  remember  the  place  of  the  engraimig — 
"  Behold,  I  have  graven  thee  upon  the  palms  of  my 
hands.''  I  beg  you  to  observe  that  the  engraving 
is  not  on  one  hand  alone,  but  on  both — "  my 
hands."  Here  is  the  hand  of  power — it  is  on 
that.  Here  is  the  hand  of  love — it  is  on  that. 
In  the  hand  of  justice  is  the  rod  of  chastisement; 
the  engraving  is  on  that  hand.  In  the  hand  of 
mercy  is  the  sceptre  of  forgiveness  ;  the  engrav- 
ing is  on  that  hand — "  I  have  graven  thee  upon 
the  palms  of  my  hands." 


198  THE    WONDERFUL    ENGRAVING 

Mr.  Spurgeon,  in  commenting  on  this  thought, 
calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  engraving  is  not 
on  God's  works,  but  on  his  hands.  The  works 
shall  perish  ;  they  shall  be  rolled  together  as  a 
scroll.  We  know  that  the  Falls  of  Niagara  are 
receding  slowly  but  surely,  and  if  the  final  day  be 
long  enough  postponed,  the  falls  may  entirely  dis- 
appear. Nothing  in  creation  is  really  permanent. 
The  pyramids  are  not  so  high  as  once  they  were  ; 
they  are  yielding  to  the  tooth  of  time.  The  very 
object  for  which  they  were  built  is  not  certainly 
known.  They  are  crumbling  slowly  away.  The 
great  mountains  are  constantly  pulverizing. 
Streams  from  glaciers  carry  thousands  upon  thou- 
sands of  tons  of  powdered  granite  yearly  into  the 
valley  of  Chamounix.  Thank  God,  this  engrav- 
ing is  not  on  the  works  of  his  hands,  but  on  his 
hands.  Truly  this  is  wonderful !  I  beg  you  to 
observe  that  it  is  on  the  palms  of  his  hands ;  and 
when  God  shuts  his  hands  he  protects,  and  when 
God  opens  his  hands  he  observes  the  engraving. 
It  is  thus  on  the  sensitive  part  of  his  hands,  the 
place  of  observation,  the  place  of  protection,  the 
place  of  tenderness.  Wonderful  is  this  truth.  O 
men  and  women,  go  to  God  to-day  as  your  Re- 
deemer. Why  have  you  so  long  refused  his  offers 
of  mercy .''  You  treat  no  other  friend  so  ill  as  you 
are  treating  God.  If  you  go  to  him  as  your  Re- 
deemer, then  trust  him  as  your  Protector.  I  think 
I  shall  never  doubt  God  so  readily  again  since  my 
meditation  on  this  text.      It  is  not  simply  a  nug- 


THE    WONDERFUL    ENGRAVING  1 99 


get  of  gold — it  is  a  bottomless  mine  of  gold.  I 
have  only  scratched  the  surface ;  you  can  dig  deeper 
as  you  meditate  on  this  precious  truth.  Trust 
God  as  your  Protector.  No  earthly  father  loves 
like  God  ;  no  earthly  mother  is  half  so  gentle  as 
God.  I  would  that  I  could  pillow  my  head  on  his 
bosom  ;  I  would  that  I  could  feel  the  embrace- 
ment  of  his  fatherly  love,  until  I  meet  him  in  his 
immediate  presence.  It  seems  to  me  to-day  that 
I  never  can  doubt  him  again. 

Learn  of  God  as  your  teacher ;  sit  at  his  feet. 
The  school  of  Christ  is  the  greatest  of  all  univer- 
sities. Jesus  Christ  was  the  greatest  of  all 
teachers.  Never  man  spake  like  this  man.  O 
blessed  Christ,  let  us  sit  at  thy  pierced  feet,  look 
up  into  thy  face,  and  learn  of  thee  forever.  Let 
us  sweetly  know  to-day  that  we,  in  all  our  interests 
for  time  and  eternity,  are  graven  on  the  palms  of 
thy  dear  hands,  once  pierced  with  the  cruel  nails 
for  us. 


THE  INSTRUCTIVE  EAGLE 


As  an  eagle  stirreth  up  her  nest,  fliittereth  over  her 
young,  spreadetJi  abroad  her  wings,  taketh  them,  beareth 
them  on  her  wings. — Dent.  J2  :  ii. 


XIII 

WE  have  in  this  text  and  context  part  of  the 
song  which  Moses  sang  near  the  close  of 
his  heroic  career,  recounting  the  great  things  which 
God  had  done  for  Israel.  The  text  is  as  suggest- 
ive spiritually  as  it  is  beautiful  rhetorically.  It 
directs  our  minds  at  once  to  the  habits  of  the 
eagle.  We  know  that  what  the  lion  is  to  the 
beasts  of  the  forest,  that  the  eagle  is  to  the  birds 
of  the  air.  God  has  made  all  the  animal  creation  ca- 
pable of  teaching  us  useful  lessons  in  the  Christian 
life,  if  we  but  listen  to  the  voices  which  they  utter. 
All  God's  creation  is  beautiful  to  the  attentive  eye, 
and  voiceful  to  the  listening  ear. 

I .  In  studying  this  text  we  have  set  before  iis,  in 
the  first  place,  the  exercise  of  a  wholesome  disci- 
pline—''  K^  an  eagle  stirreth  up  her  nest."  We 
know  that  the  eagle  selects  the  lofty  height  and 
the  inaccessible  eyrie  as  the  place  for  its  nest. 
But  she  has  remarkable  maternal  instincts ;  and  in 
obedience  to  these  instincts  she  knows  how  to  pro- 
tect her  young  securely  in  their  nests  until  the 
time  comes  for  them  to  fly  grandly  into  the  upper 
regions  of  the  sky.  We  are  told  that  she  some- 
times builds  her  nest  a  yard  square ;  and  that  into 
its  structure  go  great  pieces  of  wood,  bunches  of 
grass,  and  quantities  of   mountain  heather.      She 

203 


204  THE    INSTRUCTIVE    EAGLE 

knows  full  well  when  the  time  comes  when  the 
eaglets  ought  to  fly  abroad.  They  were  not  made 
always  to  lie  in  a  warm  and  soft  nest.  She  wishes 
at  the  proper  time  to  stir  up  the  spirit  of  the  eagle 
which  she  well  knows  is  latent  in  her  timid  brood. 
She,  therefore,  begins  to  make  the  nest  uncom- 
fortable for  her  young.  She  first  removes  its  soft 
and  warm  lining.  She  thus  exposes  its  hard  frame-' 
work  which  she  has  put  together  with  remarkable 
care  and  almost  human  skill.  But  still  the  brood 
are  unwilling  to  attempt  to  fly.  They  dislike  to 
leave  their  safe  couch ;  they  look  out  from  the  side 
of  the  nest  into  the  yawning  abyss  below,  and  then 
shrink  back  into  the  nest  with  not  unnatural  terror. 
Within  them,  it  is  true,  are  some  strivings  toward 
the  realization  of  their  lofty  possibilities  as  the 
children  of  the  cloud  and  the  storm  ;  but  without 
are  the  awful  dangers  suggested  by  the  lofty  crag 
and  the  deep  abyss. 

What  next  shall  the  mother  eagle  do }  Shall 
she  in  false  pity  for  the  fears  of  her  brood  aban- 
don all  the  plans  which  her  maternal  instincts 
suggest .''  Shall  she  see  her  young  refuse  their 
title  to  be  the  king  of  birds,  and  to  spend  their 
lives  in  idle  repose  and  unnatural  cowardice  .-'  This 
is  by  no  means  her  thought.  We  are  told  that 
she  next  begins  to  tear  the  framework  of  the 
nest ;  part  is  dislodged  from  part,  and  piece  after 
piece  falls  with  a  thundering  sound  among-  the 
crags,  and  the  eaglets  flutter  in  their  alarm  and 
express  their  fears  in  their  cries.     They  seek  ref- 


THE    INSTRUCTIVE    EAGLE  205 

uge,  huddling  together  in  the  parts  of  the  nest 
yet  undisturbed.  What  next  shall  the  mother 
eagle  do  ?  Shall  she  yield  to  the  promptings  of 
her  maternal  heart  and  abandon  her  high  purpose 
and  her  noble  ambition  ?  So  to  act  would  be  un- 
worthy of  the  eagle's  soul  that  throbs  within  her. 

It  is  said  that  next  she  dislodges  with  her  strong 
talons  pieces  of  the  rock  above  the  nest.  These 
portions  of  the  rock  come  rolling  down  the  side  of 
the  cliff  with  a  thunderous  sound  that  goes  echo- 
ing far  amid  the  lofty  rocks.  The  eaglets  are 
alarmed  more  than  ever.  Does  the  mother  mean 
utterly  to  destroy  her  brood ;  has  she  become 
cruel  rather  than  loving  ?  Is  there  no  motherly 
heart  beneath  her  wings  and  feathers  ?  Let  us 
not  so  misjudge  this  mother  bird.  She  must  teach 
her  brood  to  fly.  Flying  aloft  above  the  storm 
and  in  the  face  of  the  sun  is  one  of  the  glories  of 
an  eagle's  nature,  and  one  of  the  possibilities  of  the 
eagle's  heart  and  wing.  The  mother  must  teach 
her  young  to  fly.  The  sun  which  never  shines  is 
not  a  sun  ;  the  stream  which  never  flows  is  not  a 
stream  ;  the  fire  which  never  burns  is  not  a  fire. 
Shining,  flowing,  burning  are  the  inseparable  at- 
tributes of  sun,  stream,  and  fire.  The  eagle  which 
never  flies  is  not  an  eagle.  This  mother  cannot 
see  her  brood  despise  their  noble  heritage  ;  they 
must  fly  or  die,  so  far  as  their  higher  nature  is 
concerned.  All  this  the  mother  fully  knows.  An 
eagle  unable  to  fly  is  unworthy  its  name.  Shall 
these  eaglets  deny  their  noble  parentage  ?     Shall 


206  THE    INSTRUCTIVE    EAGLE 

they  be  unworthy  of  their  high  birth  and  their 
possible  destiny  ?  The  mother  is  determined  that 
they  shall  leave  their  nest,  cleave  the  air  with 
mighty  wing,  and  rise  above  cloud  and  storm  with 
brave  heart  and  undimmed  eye. 

In  like  manner  God  drove  Israel  out  of  Egypt. 
God  made  their  tasks  extremely  bitter  in  that  land 
of  wealth  and  beauty.  The  Egyptians  transformed 
God's  people  into  the  slaves  of  Pharaoh.  Pharaoh 
made  their  tasks  increasingly  severe.  Finally  he 
obliged  them  to  furnish  their  tale  of  bricks  although 
they  were  not  provided  with  straw.  God  permitted 
them  to  multiply  rapidly  although  they  were  op- 
pressed greatly.  God  caused  them  to  suffer  when 
their  nests  were  disturbed,  and  he  led  them  to 
aspire  after  higher  and  diviner  things.  There  is  a 
noble  discontent  among  men  even  now,  and  this 
discontent  is  not  all  of  evil ;  it  has  in  it  sublime  pos- 
sibilities for  the  exaltation  of  the  race.  Satisfac- 
tion with  degradation  is  itself  an  element  of  deepest 
degradation.  It  is  always  an  element  of  hope 
when  men  are  reaching  out  after  higher  and  better 
things  for  themselves  and  their  children.  God 
looked  upon  his  chosen  in  their  time  of  sorrow, 
and  he  listened  to  their  cries  in  their  periods  of 
mingled  despair  and  aspiration.  He  longed  for 
his  brood  in  their  Egyptian  nests  ;  and  their  night 
of  despair  was  followed  by  a  morning  of  hope. 
The  knell  of  their  liberty  was  quickly  succeeded 
by  the  paean  of  their  victory.  God  cared  for 
them  in  their  long  journey  as  deeply  and  tenderly 


THE    INSTRUCTIVE    EAGLE  20/ 

as  a  man  does  for  the  safety  of  his  eyesight.  God 
manifested  a  fatherly  protection  toward  them  and 
an  amazing  condescension  for  their  welfare ;  for  it 
is  said,  "  He  kept  them  as  the  apple  of  his  eye." 

Similar  principles  are  illustrated  to  this  hour  in 
our  family  life.  Obstacles  often  make  men.  The 
greatest  misfortune  that  could  have  happened  to 
many  men  was  to  be  born  rich  ;  the  greatest  bless- 
ing to  other  men  is  that  they  were  born  poor. 
The  hard  soil  and  the  chill  atmosphere  of  New 
England  have  largely  made  America  the  land  of 
progress  and  power  that  she  is  to-day.  But  for 
the  difficulties  which  he  encountered  in  boyhood 
Daniel  Webster  would  never  have  achieved  the 
sublime  success  which  is  synonymous  with  his 
great  name.  But  for  his  loyalty  to  God,  and  the 
cruelty  of  the  Church  of  England,  Bunyan  would 
never  have  been  imprisoned  and  the  world  would 
not  have  had  his  immortal  allegory,  "  The  Pilgrim's 
Progress."  From  his  prison  cell  his  pilgrim  has 
gone  forth  to  walk  through  the  world,  exhorting 
men  and  women  to  enter  upon  the  narrow  path- 
way and  to  march  to  the  celestial  city.  We  are 
told  that  Bunyan  wrote  this  remarkable  book  on 
pieces  of  paper  used  to  cork  the  bottles  of  milk 
which  formed  part  of  his  daily  food.  Gifford  wrote 
his  first  copy  of  his  mathematical  work  on  scraps 
of  leather  which  he  secured  for  this  purpose  while 
he  was  a  shoemaker's  apprentice.  Rittenhouse 
calculated  eclipses  on  the  handle  of  his  plow  as 
he  rested  for  a  little  at  the  end  of  the  furrow. 


208  THE    INSTRUCTIVE    EAGLE 

Michael  Angelo  struggled  against  poverty  while  his 
genius  was  pluming  itself  for  its  flight  to  the  stars. 
Opposing  circumstances  rightly  encountered  de- 
velop conquering  elements  of  character.  There 
are  men  born  to  wealth  who  never  truly  live  ;  they 
simply  exist.  They  have  contributed  nothing 
whatever  to  the  world's  wealth  in  literature,  in 
science,  in  discovery,  or  in  philanthropy ;  they  are 
plants ;  they  are  vegetables.  If  their  nest  had 
been  thoroughly  destroyed  and  they  themselves 
shaken  by  the  winds  of  adversity,  they  might  have 
developed  power  and  have  taken  their  places  among 
the  immortals. 

Many  a  man  says,  "  I  will  die  in  my  nest "  ;  but 
God  has  better  things  in  store  for  him.  A  man 
may  put  his  business  between  his  heart  and  his 
duty  to  God  ;  a  man  may  put  his  wife  and  his 
children  on  the  throne  of  his  heart  and  give  them 
the  love  and  devotion  due  to  God  alone.  We  can- 
not love  our  families  too  much  if  we  love  them  as 
God's  gift,  and  look  past  the  gift  to  the  great  Giver. 
But  if  God  is  dethroned  and  any  creature  is  en- 
throned in  his  place,  we  need  not  be  surprised  that 
our  homes  are  shaken  and  our  idols  broken.  From 
your  arms  and  heart  God  may  take  those  you  love 
the  most,  if  you  give  them  the  love  which  is  due 
to  him  alone.  In  so  doing  God  will  be  rendering 
the  greatest  possible  service  to  you  as  his  child. 
Let  us  be  sure  that  God  is  conferring  the  richest 
blessing  possible  upon  us  in  giving  us  needed  dis- 
cipline.    Men  slumber  on  the  edge  of  a  precipice ; 


THE    INSTRUCTIVE    EAGLE  209 

he  is  their  true  friend  who  awakens  them  before 
their  destruction  is  complete.  May  God  stir  up 
our  nest  if  the  nest  prevents  us  from  flying  abroad 
on  messages  of  service  for  God  and  of  blessing  for 
our  fellow-men ! 

2.  We  see  also,  in  the  second  place,  that  the  eagle 
gives  7teeded  enconi^agevient — she  "  fluttereth  over 
her  young."  This  act  on  the  part  of  the  eagle  is 
a  step  in  advance  of  her  course  when  she  stirreth 
up  the  nest.  Let  us  fix  our  thoughts  upon  her  as 
she  is  engaged  in  this  commendable  course  on  be- 
half of  her  brood.  See  her  as  she  perhaps  for  a 
time  broodeth  over  them,  giving  them  some  part 
of  her  own  vital  warmth  and  wondrous  strength. 
See  her  as  she  poises  over  the  nest,  giving  her 
young  needed  encouragement ;  no  wonder  they 
cling  to  the  nest,  uncomfortable  and  somewhat 
dangerous  as  it  now  is.  To  fly  is  no  easy  task  for 
these  unfledged  birds.  Patiently,  lovingly,  does 
the  mother  bird  balance  herself  over  the  nest  lis- 
tening to  the  cries  of  her  eaglets,  and  perhaps  by 
responding  cries,  as  well  as  by  her  own  motions, 
encouraging  them  to  fly.  She  must  teach  these 
callow  eaglets  that  they  have  wings  ;  and  that  they 
must  soar  aloft  above  the  crags  and  amid  the 
clouds.  They  must  look  into  the  face  of  the  sun 
as  they  fly  into  its  brightest  rays,  rays  which  would 
blind  other  birds,  but  which  scarcely  dazzle  the 
eyes  of  the  eagle.  They  must  learn  to  sweep  with 
majesty  and  triumph  through  the  azure  gates  of 
day.     Mother-love  stirred  the  nest ;    mother-love 


2IO  THE    INSTRUCTIVE    EAGLE 

sent  the  rocks  thundering  down  the  cHff  ;  and  now 
mother-love  gives  encouragement  as  only  a  mother 
can  give  it,  with  equal  ingenuity,  patience,  and 
tenderness. 

Similar  encouragement  is  given  us  in  the  word 
of  God.  Often  the  faults  and  failings  of  the 
saints  of  the  olden  time  have  in  them  an  element 
of  encouragement  for  us  in  our  struggles.  Job's 
sublime  patience,  without  Job's  occasional  impa- 
tience, might  utterly  discourage  us  amid  life's 
trials.  David's  kingliness  among  men  and  his 
filial  spirit  toward  God,  might  dampen  all  our  en- 
thusiasm and  discourage  our  endeavors,  were  it 
not  for  his  great  weakness,  cowardliness,  and  sin- 
fulness toward  both  God  and  man  at  one  crisis  in 
his  heroic  career.  There  is  to  us  an  element  of 
comfort  in  the  fact  that  the  Apostle  Paul  had  a 
thorn  in  the  flesh,  and  that  it  remained,  even 
though  he  prayed  earnestly  for  its  removal.  The 
character  of  Jesus  gives  us  our  strongest  encour- 
agement in  struggling  against  the  evils  in  our 
earthly  pilgrimage.  He  places  before  us  a  high 
standard  ;  he  exhorts  us  to  be  perfect  even  as  his 
Father  in  heaven  is  perfect.  He  incarnates  in  his 
own  spotless  life  the  perfect  precepts  which  he 
taught  to  men  ;  but  his  holy  example  does  not  re- 
pel, but  sweetly  attracts.  There  are  lives  that  are 
beautiful  as  the  frost  on  a  window-pane,  and  they 
are  as  cold  as  they  are  beautiful.  There  is  a 
stately  sanctity  which  is  as  repellent  as  it  is  com- 
placent.     Far  otherwise  was  the  perfect  character 


THE    INSTRUCTIVE    EAGLE  211 

of  the  Lord  Jesus.  When  Moses  came  down 
from  the  mount  with  the  glory  of  the  Lord  still 
shining  from  his  face,  men  were  repelled  ;  when 
Jesus  came  from  his  mount  of  Transfiguration 
men  were  attracted.  His  whole  earthly  career 
has  in  it  an  element  of  wonderful  encourage- 
ment for  us  in  our  struggles  toward  the  higher  life. 
His  incarnation  was  to  some  degree  an  eclipsing  of 
his  glory  as  the  Son  of  God  ;  the  cloud  of  his  hu- 
manity veiled  the  dazzling  splendor  of  his  divinity. 
He  laid  aside  his  glory  lest  he  might  awe  and  re- 
pel us  when  he  would  sweetly  invite  and  lovingly 
attract  us  to  himself.  For  our  encouragement 
Christ  did  not  consider  equality  with  God  as  a  pos- 
session to  be  retained ;  but  he  emptied  himself,  he 
became  man,  he  humbled  himself  as  a  man,  finally 
dying  the  death  of  the  cross.  Marvelously  does 
he  thus  encourage  us  to  bear  our  cross,  that  we 
like  him  may  finally  be  highly  exalted  because  of 
our  lowliness  in  service,  our  loyalty  in  obedience, 
and  our  likeness  to  him  in  character. 

In  the  ceiling  of  the  Palazzo  Rospigliosi,  in 
Rome,  there  is  a  painting  by  Guido  Reni  repre- 
senting Aurora  strewing  flowers  before  the  chariot 
of  the  god  of  the'  sun,  who  is  surrounded  by  dan- 
cing Jior(B.  By  many  this  is  considered  to  be  this 
artist's  masterpiece.  The  coloring  is  especially 
skillful,  the  brightest  light  being  thrown  on  the 
figure  of  Apollo.  All  the  colors  are  thus  shaded 
off  so  as  to  harmonize  with  that  of  the  central 
figure  and  the  dun-colored  horses  and  the  clouds 


212  THE    INSTRUCTIVE    EAGLE 

in  the  background.  The  eye  of  the  beholder  be- 
comes weary  in  the  effort  to  study  this  painting 
on  the  ceiHng;  and  the  considerate  guardians  have 
placed  opposite  the  entrance  a  mirror  in  which  the 
painting  may  be  conveniently  studied.  The  visitor 
looks  downward  rather  than  upward,  resting  neck 
and  eye  as  he  studies  the  perfect  forms  and  har- 
monious colors  of  this  historic  painting.  The  hu- 
manity of  Christ  was  the  mirror  of  his  divinity ; 
in  it  we  can  see  him  as  the  beautiful  child,  the 
noble  youth,  the  perfect  man,  and  the  divine- 
human  Redeemer.  In  all  these  relations  of  life 
he  hovers  over  us  as  the  eagle  flutters  over  her 
young,  giving  us  needed  encouragement.  May 
we  watch  the  inspiration  of  his  presence  and  feel 
the  uplift  of  his  influence !  Oftener  ought  we  to 
give  needed  encouragement  to  others.  John  B. 
Gough  stood  leaning  upon  a  lamp-post,  broken  in 
body  and  wretched  in  soul ;  the  light  of  his  life  had 
gone  out ;  and  there  seemed  to  be  no  hope  for  him 
in  time  and  no  light  in  eternity.  A  gentle  hand  was 
laid  on  his  shoulder,  a  kindly  word  spoken  to  ear  and 
heart,  and  a  new  life  then  and  there  was  begun. 
The  eloquent  words  of  Gough,  spoken  on  hundreds 
of  platforms  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  words 
which  thrilled  unnumbered  thousands,  were  but 
the  echo  of  the  kindly  words  spoken  on  the  streets 
of  New  York  by  this  inspired  man  who,  under 
God,  became  Gough's  deliverer.  May  God  help 
us  to  give  encouragement  to  some  struggling  soul 
to-day !     May  there  be  kindliness  in  the  glance  of 


THE    INSTRUCTIVE    EAGLE  21  3 


our  eye,  cheer  in  the  tones  of  our  voice,  and  sym- 
pathy in  the  grasp  of  our  hand !  May  God  give 
us  the  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ  that  we  may  hve  and 
labor  to  bring  men  into  sweet  fellowship  with  him, 
their  Lord  and  Redeemer. 

3.  The  eagle,  in  the  third  place,  gives  a  practical 
example— s\\Q  "  spreadeth  abroad  her  wings."    She 
knows  well  that  she  must  do  more  than    flutter 
over  her  brood  ;   fluttering  may  be  conducive  to 
flying,  but  fluttering  is  not  flying.      She  must  give 
her  eaglets  an  example  in  her  own  action.     She 
now  appeals  powerfully  to  the  dormant  spirit  of 
the  storm,  the  cloud,  and  the  upper  air,  which  spirit 
she  knows  well  is  in  the  heart  of  her  young.      She 
wishes   to   arouse   the  ambition   which  will    lead 
them  to  skirt  the  lofty  crags  and  to  fly  serenely 
and  sublimely  in  the  high  places  of  the  thunder. 
Behold  her  as  she   strikes   boldly  out   from  the 
nest,  see  her  as   she   cleaves  the    sky   with   her 
strong  wings,  and  as  she  sweeps  upward  in  the  face 
of  the  sun  !     How  she  darts  forward !     How  plac- 
idly she  sails  on  the  clouds!     How  wildly    she 
screams,  filling  all  the  air  with  the  echoes  of  her 
cries!     Upward    she  now  darts,  higher  and   still 
higher  she  rises  ;  circle  after  circle  she  now  makes, 
and  now  she  is  entirely  lost  to  sight  as  her  eaglets 
strain  their  young  eyes  to  follow  her  noble  flight. 
Soon  she  returns,   her   wings   dampened  by  the 
dews  of  the   upper  air;  again   she   sails  grandly 
amid  the  clouds  on  her  tireless,  undaunted,  joyous 
wings,  back  to  the  eyrie  and  the  nest.     Her  brood 


214  THE    INSTRUCTIVE    EAGLE 

welcome  her  ;  their  little  hearts  beat  high.  What 
pride  they  have  in  their  mother !  What  ambitions 
are  stirring  in  their  eagle  souls  !  Shall  they  ever 
accomplish  such  a  flight  as  that  of  their  strong 
mother  of  whom  they  are  so  proud !  Great 
thoughts,  such  as  eagles  may  have,  are  filling 
their  breasts  ;  they  never  before  saw  such  a  flight 
as  that  of  their  dauntless  mother.  She  has 
aroused  the  ambition  of  the  eagle  soul  which  will 
lead  them  to  surmount  cloud  and  storm  until  they 
reach  the  calm  upper  air,  where  no  cloud  floats  but 
where  the  sun  ever  shines.  The  spirit  of  the  king 
of  birds  is  evoked,  and  nothing  will  ever  satisfy 
the  eagle  heart  within  until  a  similar  flight  is  made 
by  each  wondering  eaglet. 

So  God  gave  a  practical  example  to  Israel  in 
Egypt  and  at  the  Red  Sea.  God  made  bare  his 
arm  to  destroy  Pharaoh,  his  courtiers,  and  his  sol- 
diers. He  made  Pharaoh  and  his  people  willing 
to  let  Israel  go.  He  surpassed  all  the  powers  of 
this  mighty  king  by  displaying  power  mightier 
than  Pharaoh  had  ever  before  seen.  Israel  fled ; 
they  are  gathered  on  the  shore  of  the  Red  Sea. 
Never  before  were  a  people  in  so  evil  a  case ;  be- 
fore them  were  the  waters  of  the  sea ;  to  the  right 
of  them  and  to  the  left  of  them  rose  lofty  moun- 
tains, and  behind  them  were  the  soldiers  of  Egypt. 
But  one  way  was  open — the  way  upward,  the  way 
to  God's  throne  and  heart.  That  way  no  foe  of 
God  or  man  can  ever  obstruct.  By  that  way  our 
prayers  may  ever  ascend  and  God's  deliverances 


THE    INSTRUCTIVE    EAGLE  21$ 

ever  descend.  Marvelously  did  the  sea  flee  before 
them ;  so  also  did  the  Jordan  on  their  behalf  stop  in 
its  onward  flow ;  so  also  did  the  walls  of  Jericho  fall 
down  ;  so  also  were  the  nations  smitten  with  fear. 
God  went  before  his  people  for  their  deliverance 
from  their  foes.  So  Christ  goes  before  us  to-day  ; 
he  is  still  the  Good  Shepherd  who  calleth  his  sheep 
by  name  and  leadeth  them  out.  His  voice  is  full 
of  cheer,  of  hope,  and  of  inspiration  ;  we  see  his 
footprints  and  there  we  place  our  own.  He  makes 
every  trial  encouragement  for  an  additional  vic- 
tory. The  Sandwich  Islanders  believed  that  when 
they  slew  a  fierce  foe  his  heroic  virtues  and  daunt- 
less bravery  passed  over  into  the  hearts  of  the 
slayers.  So  Christ  enables  us  to  conquer  sin  and 
Satan,  and  to  get  from  every  vanquished  evil, 
courage,  fortitude,  and  inspiration  to  vanquish  re- 
maining evils.  One  ounce  of  example  is  worth  a 
pound  of  precept.  Christ's  precepts  he  translated 
into  daily  examples.  Never  can  we  be  satisfied 
with  our  low  attainments  when  we  see  his  lofty 
achievements.  O  blessed  Christ,  put  around  us 
thy  strong  arms,  lifting  us  when  we  fall,  holding  us 
when  we  faint,  and  making  us  heroic  and  victorious 
in  every  encounter  with  Satan  and  his  hosts. 

4.  We  notice,  in  the  last  place,  the  eagle  givijig 
help  in  extremity — she  "  taketh  them,  beareth  them 
on  her  wings."  The  eaglets  catch  the  inspiration  of 
her  fearless  flight  and  so  strike  out  boldly  for  them- 
selves. Perhaps  in  some  cases  she  maybe  obliged 
to  carry  them  out  on  her  own  strong  wings.     If 


2l6  THE    INSTRUCTIVE    EAGLE 

SO,  she  will  then  throw  them  off  in  order  that  they 
may  learn  how  to  exercise  their  own  wings.  See 
them  as  they  flutter,  fly,  and  begin  to  fall !  Above 
them  are  the  clouds  and  the  storms ;  beneath  them 
are  the  fearful  depths  of  the  terrible  abyss.  How 
their  hearts  beat  and  their  wings  flutter!  Perhaps 
also,  they  are  exposed  at  times  to  the  arrow  of  the 
archer  that  may  pierce  their  bodies.  See  her  now, 
as  she  sweeps  under  them,  takes  them  on  her  own 
strong,  tireless  form,  and  strikes  back  for  the  nest. 
Most  beautiful  is  this  illustration  of  God's  help, 
protection  and  salvation  for  his  people. 

Let  us  never  be  discouraged,  and  let  us  never 
be  satisfied  with  low  attainments  in  the  Christian 
life.  We  live  too  often  in  the  porter's  lodge,  when 
we  might  dwell  in  the  king's  palace.  We  are  too 
often  satisfied  with  the  crumbs  that  fall  from  the 
Master's  table,  when  we  might  eat  a  full  meal. 
Let  us  remember,  as  the  Apostle  Paul  has  taught 
us,  to  be  filled  with  all  the  fullness  of  God.  May 
God  drive  us  from  our  nest  if  thereby  he  may  draw 
us  to  himself !  May  God  empty  us  of  self  that  he 
may  fill  us  with  himself !  Let  us  show  to  the 
church  and  to  the  world  what  God  can  make  of 
men  and  women  who  are  wholly  surrendered  to 
him.  We  may  rise  to  as  lofty  a  height  as  that  at- 
tained by  any  of  the  saints  of  God  in  the  past. 
Let  us  strike  out  grandly  to-day  for  a  sublimer 
flight.  Let  us  be  enterprising  for  God.  Can  we 
not  mark  out  a  new  pathway  of  service  for  God 
and  man  ?     God's  everlasting  arm  will  ever  be  be- 


THE    INSTRUCTIVE    EAGLE  21/ 

neath  ;  we  can  never  sink  so  low,  even  though  we 
sink  into  sickness,  poverty,  death,  and  finally  the 
grave,  but  that  still  beneath  us  shall  be  the  ever- 
lasting arms.  To-day,  let  the  glowing  words  of 
Isaiah  sing  their  sweetest  music  in  our  souls : 
"  They  that  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew  their 
strength ;  they  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as 
eagles ;  they  shall  run,  and  not  be  weary ;  and 
they  shall  walk,  and  not  faint," 


THE  RIGHTEOUS  GARMENTS 


/  will  greatly  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  vty  soul  shall  be  joyful 
in  my  God ;  for  he  hath  clothed  me  with  the  garments  of 
salvation,  he  hath  covered  me  with  the  robe  of  righteous- 
ness, as  a  bridegroom  decketh  himself  with  ornaments,  and 
as  a  bride  adorneth  herself  with  her  jewels.  — Isa.  6i :  lo. 


XIV 

THE  sixtieth  chapter  of  Isaiah  begins  a  beauti- 
ful and  glorious  description  of  the  golden 
age  of  the  Messiah.  This  description  continues 
through  the  sixty-first  and  the  sixty-second  chap- 
ters. The  blessings  of  that  period  are  represented 
as  numerous  and  glorious.  They  are  described  in 
the  exalted  and  poetic  imagery  so  often  employed 
by  the  prophets,  and  especially  by  the  evangelical 
prophet  Isaiah.  This  prophet,  in  harmony  with 
his  usual  method  of  foretelling,  puts  himself  into 
the  midst  of  the  scenes  which  he  so  strikingly  de- 
scribes. In  this  connection  he  portrays  the  time 
when  the  Gentiles  shall  be  gathered  in,  and  when 
the  whole  earth  shall  be  illumined  with  the  glory 
of  gospel  truth.  The  sixty-first  chapter  is  a  marked 
portion  of  this  grand  description  ;  it  sets  before  us 
the  blessed  results  of  the  coming  and  the  work  of 
the  Messiah.  In  the  text  we  have  the  language  of 
the  prophet  himself,  or  of  some  other  who  speaks 
authoritatively  on  behalf  of  Zion.  The  truth  here 
taught  is  that  the  prosperity  of  Zion,  the  true 
church  and  kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  is  a  sufficient 
cause  for  rapturous  joy,  and  that  this  prosperity 
should  lead  all  God's  true  people  to  give  thanks- 
giving for  the  great  mercy  experienced  in  the  reign 
of  the  Messiah. 


222  THE    RIGHTEOUS    GARMENTS 

But  all  true  Christians  in  our  day  are  as  really 
the  people  of  God  as  were  the  saints  in  the  days 
of  Isaiah,  and  they  can  make  this  language  their 
own.  They,  more  truly  than  God's  people  of  that 
earlier  day,  can  rejoice  in  the  grace  of  God  in  their 
own  hearts,  and  in  the  spread  of  the  kingdom  of 
God  throughout  the  world.  The  world  never  was 
so  small,  so  far  as  the  means  of  reaching  all  its 
parts  are  concerned,  as  it  is  to-day.  All  the  in- 
ventions and  discoveries  of  the  hour  are  contribut- 
ing to  thfe  spread  of  the  gospel  and  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  kingdom  of  God.  Telephones  and 
telegraphs  have  made  the  world  a  whispering  gal- 
lery to  echo  the  story  of  redeeming  love.  Steam- 
ships and  railways  in  carrying  God's  messengers 
are  instruments  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel  and 
for  the  salvation  of  the  race.  Never  before  might 
the  church  so  rejoice  in  the  glory  of  God's  grace 
as  to-day. 

In  looking  more  closely  at  this  text  we  see  that 
it  gives,  us  its  salient  thoughts  with  great  clear- 
ness and  with  equal  beauty. 

I.  //  contams  a  joyous  resolution  — "/  will 
greatly  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  and  my  soul  shall  be 
joyful  in  my  God.''  The  joy  spoken  of  here  is  de- 
scribed as  great.  Those  who  rejoice  in  God  have 
cause  to  rejoice  greatly.  No  other  joy  can  be  half 
so  joyful ;  no  other  joy  is  worthy  of  the  name. 
The  joy  of  this  world  perishes  even  while  it  is 
used ;  but  the  joy  which  comes  from  heavenly 
things  increases  with  the  using,  and  it  will  be  en- 


THE    RIGHTEOUS    GARMENTS  223 

joyed  more  fully  in  heaven  than  upon  the  earth. 
In  speaking  of  this  heavenly  joy  extravagance  is 
impossible  ;  in  attempting  adequately  to  represent 
its  greatness  economy  in  statement  is  sinful.  If 
our  joy  is  in  God  we  cannot  rejoice  too  much. 
Well  might  the  psalmist  say,  in  the  second  verse 
of  the  thirty-fourth  Psalm,  "  My  soul  shall  make  her 
boast  in  the  Lord."  Boasting  in  God  is  not  only 
justifiable,  but  its  absence  is  unpardonable.  The 
psalmist  recognized  God  as  the  fountain  whence 
his  joy  sprang  in  a  full  and  continuous  stream. 
No  man  can  boast  too  much  when  he  forgets  him- 
self and  exalts  only  God  as  the  object  of  his  trust 
and  the  subject  of  his  boast.  If  our  joy  is  in  God 
we  may  rest  assured  that  God,  in  the  perfection  of 
his  character  and  in  the  preciousness  of  his  love, 
will  be  in  our  joy.  Only  as  God  is  in  our  joy  can 
joy  be  truly  joy. 

The  first  gospel  song  which  earth  ever  heard 
was  a  song  of  ineffable  joy.  In  that  moment  of 
tremulous  excitement  when  there  came  to  the 
heart  of  the  Hebrew  maiden  the  realization  of 
all  the  honor  that  was  to  come  to  her,  and  all 
the  blessing  that  through  her  was  to  come  to 
the  world,  she  burst  forth  in  a  song  of  holy  ec- 
stasy. The  lofty  words  of  the  lowly  Hannah  came 
spontaneously  to  her  lips.  Her  soul  was  saturated 
with  the  glowing  lyrics  of  the  earlier  saints  ;  she 
was  imbued  with  their  spirit,  and  her  thoughts 
naturally  took  the  form  of  this  glorious  Old  Testa- 
ment poetry.     And   so  the   gentle  maiden  sang, 


224  THE    RIGHTEOUS    GARMENTS 

"  My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord,  and  my  spirit 
hath  rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviour."  And  the 
"  Magnificat "  of  Mary  has  echoed  through  loyal 
hearts  ever  since,  and  has  found  expression  on  the 
lips  of  men  and  women  under  the  spell  of  its  lyric 
impulse  and  its  religious  emotion.  The  "  Bene- 
dictus  "  of  Zacharias  was  the  natural  echo  of  the 
"  Magnificat  "  of  Mary  ;  and  soon  the  "  Gloria  in 
Excelsis  "  of  the  angels  is  heard.  The  birth  of  the 
Lord  gave  them,  as  well  as  us,  new  cause  for  joy. 
Over  the  plains  of  Bethlehem  rang  their  voices 
making  night  melodious  with  heavenly  music. 
The  birth  of  Christ  was  cause  for  joy  to  saints  and 
seraphs  in  heaven,  as  well  as  to  all  pure  hearts 
and  noble  souls  on  earth.  Indeed  the  whole  atmos- 
phere was  tremulous  with  song  at  the  time  of  the 
Lord's  birth.  Never  before  did  loving  hearts  so 
utter  themselves  in  lofty  song  as  then.  We  are 
not  surprised  at  the  "Nunc  Dimittis  "  of  Simeon 
after  we  have  listened  to  the  other  strains  of  music 
evoked  by  the  rapturous  emotion  of  that  marvelous 
time.  No  wonder  that  Simeon,  as  he  takes  the 
divine  babe  into  his  arms,  finds  himself  uttering 
strains  of  music  which  had  long  been  shut  up  in 
his  own  reverent  heart. 

The  noble  Paul  drank  in  the  true  spirit  of  Chris- 
tian joy.  He  says,  "  Rejoice  evermore,"  and  else- 
where, "  Rejoice  in  the  Lord  always  ;  and  again,  I 
say,  rejoice."  The  apostle  shows  us  that  joy  in 
the  Lord  is  not  simply  a  privilege  but  a  duty. 
The  apostle  but  echoes  the  words  of  the  Old  Tes- 


THE    RIGHTEOUS    GARMENTS  225 


tament  prophet  who  states  a  profound  psycholog- 
ical, as  well  as  a  deeply  religious,  principle  when 
he  affirms,  "  The  joy  of  the  Lord  is  your  strength." 
Religion  evermore  gives  joy.  Religion  makes  joy 
bells  ring  in  heaven  and  among  redeemed  souls  on 
earth.  It  is  an  ancient,  and  also  a  Satanic,  slander 
to  affirm  that  a  religious  life  is  a  life  of  gloom. 
Satan,  as  his  name  implies,  is  evermore  a  slanderer. 
We  have  seen  lives  sad  because  they  were  without 
God  and  without  hope.  It  is  true  that  religion 
has  its  solemn  elements  ;  it  is  true  that  while  Christ 
was  anointed  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above  his 
fellows,  he  was  also  the  Man  of  sorrows.  All  his 
people  share  with  him  in  these  times  of  sunshine 
and  shadow.  That  is  a  shallow  life  which  knows 
no  lofty  joy  and  no  deep  grief. 

We  see  also  that  this  is  spiritual  joy — "  My  soul 
shall  be  joyful."  The  joy  here  described  is  real, 
internal  and  spiritual.  It  springs  from  the  deep- 
est elements  of  the  soul.  It  is  a  quality  of  the 
essential  being.  It  is  not  a  simulated  but  a  genu- 
ine joy.  It  does  not  wreathe  the  face  with  smiles 
while  the  heart  breaks  with  grief.  In  the  experi- 
ence of  mere  worldly  joy  there  is  often  an  aching 
heart  beneath  a  bridal  veil.  Worldly  pleasure  can- 
not satisfy  the  heart's  deep  need,  but  true  religious 
joy  fills  the  heart  and  springs  up  from  the  soul's 
deepest  and  truest  reality.  It  is  also  in  the  noblest 
sense  personal  joy — "  I  will  rejoice  ...  my  soul 
will  be  joyful."  The  heart  thus  becomes  a  well- 
spring  of  joy.     This  joy  is  not  dependent  upon  ex- 


226  THE    RIGHTEOUS    GARMENTS 

ternal  conditions ;  it  springs  from  internal  posses- 
sions. It  is  not  something  which  "haps  "  to  one, 
but  something  which  springs  up  from  hidden 
sources  within.  Joy,  therefore,  is  a  much  greater 
possession  than  mere  happiness.  Happiness  comes 
or  goes  according  to  the  frowns  or  smiles  of  ex- 
ternal fortune ;  but  joy  remains  because  it  has  its 
origin  within  rather  than  without,  and  because  it 
springs  up  from  deep  and  inexhaustible  sources 
within  the  soul  itself.  All  without  may  be  dark 
as  deepest  midnight,  but  all  within  may  be  bright 
as  clearest  noonday  ;  without  may  be  only  the 
world's  harsh  discords,  but  within  there  may  be 
celestial  harmonies.  This  joy  was  the  blessed 
gift  of  Christ  to  his  followers  before  his  crucifixion 
and  after  his  resurrection  ;  it  was  also  his  parting 
legacy  as  he  went  back  to  take  his  place  on  his 
Father's  throne.  This  is  the  blessed  peace  which 
the  world  can  neither  give  nor  take  away. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  further,  that  this  is  a  res- 
olution of  divine  joy — it  is  "joy  in  the  Lord." 
This  thought  we  have  already  expressed,  but  it  is 
here  brought  out  with  greater  fullness  of  meaning. 
This  is  beautiful  language ;  and  the  experience 
here  suggested  is  a  proper  subject  for  the  joy 
here  declared.  We  can  never  exhaust  the  joy 
which  has  God  for  its  source.  The  life  that  is 
hid  with  Christ  in  God  is  a  charmed  life.  It  draws 
upon  an  unending  fountain  of  blessing  and  ex- 
haustless  source  of  delight.  All  the  other  streams 
may  become  dry ;  this  stream  cannot  know  dim!- 


THE    RIGHTEOUS    GARMENTS  2  2/ 

nution.  Like  a  river  with  constantly  multiplying 
tributaries,  it  flows  on  widening  and  deepening  in 
its  progress.  One  day  this  enlarged  stream  will 
pour  itself  into  the  ocean  of  eternity.  All  the 
world's  fountains  are  not  really  fountains,  but 
simply  cisterns,  and  broken  cisterns  which  can 
hold  no  water.  When  our  lips  are  parched  with 
thirst  we  reach  the  hand  for  some  cup  of  earthly 
joy,  and  we  find  that  it  is  cracked,  and  that  it  con- 
tains no  water ;  but  at  its  bottom  we  find  only 
poisonous  sediment.  Thrice  happy  is  the  man 
whose  soul  can  be  joyful  in  the  Lord  !  That  soul 
can  be  joyful  in  adversity  as  in  prosperity,  in  dark- 
ness as  in  light,  in  shadow  as  in  sunshine,  in  death 
as  in  life,  and  in  eternity  vastly  more  than  in  time  ! 
In  the  forty-fourth  Psalm  and  the  eighth  verse 
we  have  the  thought  expressed  in  the  words,  "  In 
God  we  boast  all  the  day  long."  Here  not  a  mo- 
mentary joy  is  described,  but  a  continual  and  in- 
creasing joy  is  expressed.  Every  true  believer 
may  have  such  joy  here  and  now.  We  live  far 
below  our  privileges  when  we  are  satisfied  with 
dwelling  in  the  porter's  lodge  rather  than  in  the 
King's  palace.  We  walk  in  the  valley  singing 
jeremiads,  when  we  might  leap  on  the  hilltops 
singing  hallelujahs ;  too  often  we  insist  upon  call- 
ing ourselves  servants  when  God  proclaims  us  to 
be  sons.  Jesus  Christ  is  our  Immanuel — God  with 
us.  He  is  perfect  man  and  perfect  God  ;  he  is 
the  Son  of  Mary  and  the  Son  of  God  ;  he  is  the 
Child  of  the  manger  and  the  Ancient  of  days.     In 


228  THE    RIGHTEOUS    GARMENTS 

God  let  our  souls  make  their  boast ;  with  him  on 
our  side  we  can  defy  the  world  and  the  devil.  Let 
us  shout  his  praise  and  have  even  here  sweet  fore- 
tastes of  the  fuller  joy  we  shall  experience  and 
the  grander  victory  we  shall  achieve  in  his  im- 
mediate presence. 

2.  We  have,  in  the  second  place,  in  this  text,  a 
sjtfficicnt  reason  for  S21cJl  a  resoliitio7i — ^'  For  he  hath 
clothed  me  ivith  the  garments  of  salvation,''  etc. 
God  reveals  to  the  soul  its  need  of  clothing.  Dr. 
Bushnell,  in  his  suggestive  discourse  on  "  Putting 
on  Christ,"  reminds  us  that  the  highest  distinction 
of  man,  considered  as  an  animal  among  animals,  is 
not  in  his  two-handedness  nor  in  his  erect  figure, 
but  in  his  necessity  and  right  of  dress.  The  lower 
animals  have  no  option  regarding  their  figure  and 
appearance.  Their  dress  is  a  part  of  their  organi- 
zation ;  it  grows  upon  them  as  their  bones  grow 
within  them.  This  is  true  whether  their  dress  be 
feathers,  fur,  hair,  or  wool  ;  but  man  shows  his 
superior  dignity  by  the  necessity  of  additional 
clothing  and  the  high  prerogative  which  he  may 
exercise  regarding  its  character.  This  remark  is 
as  true  morally  as  it  is  physically.  When  the  first 
pair  sinned,  the  garment  of  purity  which  had  been 
on  their  soul  was  lost  ;  they  therefore  tried  to 
substitute  for  it  external  garments  of  their  own 
devising.  Their  act  unconsciously  declared  their 
sin.  Many  men  and  women  still  follow  their  ex- 
ample. Education,  refinement,  culture,  and  many 
other  graces  of  manner,  are  manufactured  cover- 


THE    RIGHTEOUS    GARMENTS  229 

ings  for  moral  deformities.  Proud  men  and  women 
do  not  wish  to  be  reminded  that  they  are  poor 
and  blind  and  naked.  Instead  of  turning  against 
their  moral  defects,  they  are  apt  to  turn  against 
the  preacher  for  uttering  unwholesome  truths. 
Except  men  be  clothed  with  the  garments  of  sal- 
vation, they  are  unclothed  so  far  as  the  noblest 
elements  of  character  and  the  highest  attainments 
of  divine  culture  are  concerned. 

God  also  reveals  the  fact  that  he  alone  can  pro- 
vide garments  of  salvation  and  robes  of  righteous- 
ness. This  truth,  also,  men  and  women  are  slow 
to  learn  ;  they  wish  to  help  God.  They  desire  a 
share  in  the  work  of  salvation  at  a  point  where 
their  service  is  neither  needed  nor  possible.  The 
enforcement  of  these  solemn  truths  humbles  pride 
and  destroys  self-sufficiency.  Some  men  are  so 
inflated  with  self-righteousness,  that  they  think 
they  have  need  neither  of  the  mercy  of  God  nor 
the  cross  of  Christ.  They  sit  at  their  own  loom 
and  weave  their  own  robes ;  they  act,  so  far  as 
their  moral  nature  is  concerned,  precisely  as  did 
our  first  parents  in  Eden  in  respect  to  their  physi- 
cal clothing.  But  even  here  at  times  these  Phari- 
sees discover  defects  in  their  robes,  and  here  and 
there  put  in  the  silver  or  golden  thread  of  some 
good  deed,  some  holy  aspiration,  or  some  saintly 
resolution.  They  expect  that  God's  mercy  will 
make  up  for  all  threadbare  spots,  ragged  rents, 
and  deep-dyed  stains.  They  would  unite  their 
rags  to  Christ's  robes.     Believe  me,  it  is  impos- 


230  THE    RIGHTEOUS    GARMENTS 


sible  to  cover  the  soul  in  this  way.  You  must  put 
on  Christ's  robes,  or  you  will  not  be  suitably  at- 
tired for  the  wedding  feast ;  otherwise  you  will  not 
have  on  the  wedding  garment.  Quaintly  has  some 
one  said  that  "  The  filthy  rags  of  the  first  Adam 
must  not  be  joined  to  the  princely  robes  of  the 
second  Adam." 

We  know,  indeed,  that  Christ's  righteousness 
is  imparted  as  well  as  imputed ;  and  when  so 
imputed  and  imparted,  all  men  take  knowledge 
of  its  possessor  that  he  has  been  with  Jesus. 
Christ  in  the  heart  makes  his  presence  seen 
in  the  life.  He  cannot  be  hid.  A  rose  in  our 
bosom  will  fill  the  atmosphere  about  us  with  its 
fragrance ;  so  does  Christ,  the  Rose  of  Sharon. 
In  the  robe  of  his  righteousness  there  is  no  seam 
and  no  stain.  Even  the  eye  of  infinite  holiness 
and  purity  cannot  see  any  defect  in  that  perfect 
robe.  Self-righteousness  is  no  righteousness. 
Impurity  cannot  purify  itself.  Our  prayers  need 
to  be  prayed  for  ;  our  very  tears  need  washing. 
As  well  might  a  man  lean  for  support  on  his 
shadow  as  for  a  guilty  sinner  to  seek  comfort  and 
hope  in  his  own  goodness.  As  a  ground  of  ac- 
ceptance with  God,  our  own  righteousness  is  only 
"sinking  sand."  Christ  will  not  share  with  us  the 
glory  of  his  finished  work  as  a  part  of  our  justify- 
ing righteousness. 

We  are  told  that  Phidias,  the  great  sculptor, 
was  employed  by  the  Athenians  to  make  a  statue 
of  the  goddess  Diana,  and  he  produced  a  master- 


THE    RIGHTEOUS    GARMENTS  23  I 

piece.  It  elicited  his  own  admiration;  it  filled 
his  soul  with  artistic  enthusiasm.  But  self-glory 
took  the  place  of  devotion  to  his  art  and  the 
place  of  reverence  for  the  subject  of  his  artistic 
labors  and  genius ;  and  being  anxious  to  hand 
his  name  down  to  posterity,  we  are  told  that  he 
secretly  engraved  it  in  one  of  the  folds  of  the 
drapery.  When  the  Athenians  discovered  his 
clumsy  duplicity,  his  unpatriotic  ambition  and  un- 
artistic  selfishness,  they  indignantly  banished  the 
man  who  had  polluted  the  sanctity  of  their  god- 
dess. Self-righteous  sinners  to-day  act  the  part 
of  this  ancient  sculptor  ;  they  would  add  their  own 
name  to  Christ's  in  his  robe  of  perfect  righteous- 
ness. The  true  Christian  is  clothed  with  the  gar- 
ments of  salvation  and  the  robes  of  righteousness. 
The  clothing  is  actually  on  his  soul  here  and  now. 
The  gospel  armor  is  useless  except  it  be  put  on  ; 
the  bread  of  life  is  worthless  except  it  be  eaten  ; 
and  Christ  is  powerless  to  save,  except  by  a  liv- 
ing faith  he  be  received  into  the  soul. 

Why  should  we  have  in  the  text  both  garments 
of  salvation  and  a  robe  of  righteousness  ?  Some 
have  suggested  that  we  have  here  an  instance  of 
Hebrew  parallelism ;  but  I  certainly  think  we 
have  here  more  than  a  mere  rhetorical  form.  The 
garments  may  refer  to  the  soul's  need  of  grace 
and  mercy,  and  the  robe  to  the  beauty  and  glory  of 
religion.  The  soul  is  not  only  protected,  but  it  is 
ornamented.  The  princely  robe  that  was  thrown 
over  the   shoulder  was   an   article   of  beauty ;    it 


232  THE    RIGHTEOUS    GARMENTS 

manifested  the  dignity,  the  royalty,  and  the  son- 
ship  of  the  wearer.  We  have  here  then  the  gar- 
ments of  the  divine  nuptials  ;  we  have  the  flowing 
robes  of  the  heavenly  kingdom.  They  can  be 
made  white  only  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Be- 
hold the  redeemed  in  glory  !  Whence  came  they  .-' 
See  their  flowing  robes  of  spotless  white !  Mar- 
velous mystery  of  redeeming  love,  these  robes  are 
made  white  by  the  cleansing  power  of  blood.  Oh, 
precious  truth  !  Oh,  blessed  gospel !  Oh,  mighty 
Saviour !  While  the  Roman  soldiers  at  the  foot 
of  the  cross  were  casting  lots  for  Christ's  seamless 
robe,  he  was  preparing  for  you  and  me  a  seamless, 
spotless,  and  sinless  robe  of  righteousness.  That 
robe  by  his  grace  I  now  offer  you.  It  will  hide 
your  deformities.  It  will  make  you  a  son,  a  daugh- 
ter of  the  Lord  of  life  and  glory.  It  will  be  the 
wedding  garment  for  the  King's  feast.  It  will  be 
the  flowing  robe  of  heaven's  redeemed  and  trium- 
phant inhabitants.  Will  you  put  it  on  }  Will  you 
receive  Christ  now  .-•  Then  he  will  be  your  wis- 
dom, your  righteousness,  and  your  redemption 
now  and  forevermore. 

3.  JVe  Jiave  also  Jierc,  in  the  third  and  last  place, 
a  striking  comparison  — '^  As  a  bridegroom  decketJi 
himself  with  ornaments,  and  as  a  bride  adornetJi 
Jierself  zvith  her  jewels."  We  see  that  Christians 
thus  attired  are  compared  to  a  bridegroom  decked 
with  the  priestly  crown.  It  is  a  strange  combina- 
tion of  ideas,  but  a  combination  which  the  original 
words  clearly  suggest.     The  allusion,  doubtless,  is 


THE    RIGHTEOUS    GARMENTS  233 


to  the  magnificent  robes  of  the  high  priest  when 
performing  his  functions.  Special  reference  is 
made  to  the  mitre  and  the  crown  of  gold  on  its 
front.  The  great  truth  is  here  taught  that  all  true 
believers  are  priests  and  kings.  They  are  heirs 
of  glory ;  they  are  joint- heirs  with  Christ ;  theirs 
shall  yet  be,  as  two  apostles  have  taught  us,  a 
triple  crown,  a  crown  of  righteousness,  a  crown 
of  life,  and  a  crown  of  glory. 

All  these  truths  are  again  beautifully  suggested 
by  the  description  here  given  of  the  bride  adorned 
with  her  jewels.      The  Bible  exhausts  all  human 
relations  in  setting  forth  the  blessedness  of  Chris- 
tians.     Human  language  can  scarcely  bear  up  at 
all  times   under  the   weight  of    human   thought; 
but  it  breaks  down  utterly  under  the  weight  of 
God's  thought  when  he  strives  to  make  known  his 
relations  to  men,  or  the  exalted  positions  to  which 
by  his  grace  he  raises  them.     What  tender  thoughts 
gather  about  a  bride's   preparation   for  her   mar- 
riage.    Father  and  mother,   brothers  and  sisters, 
friends   and    neighbors,   wait   upon    her,  and    her 
slightest  wish  is  considered  and  if  possible  grati- 
fied.     She  is  the  princess  of  the  home ;  she  is  the 
queen  of  the  hour.      Some  of  us  have  seen  among 
the  fjords  of  Norway  marriage  processions  of  the 
humble  and   yet   noble  peasants  of  that   rugged 
country  and   brave  people.      On  the  brow  of   the 
peasant  girl  on  this  wonderful  day  rests  a  crown, 
while  neighboring  maidens  with  evident  satisfac- 
tion, and  perhaps  with  occasional  envy,  watch  the 


234  THE    RIGHTEOUS    GARMENTS 

marriage  procession.  This  custom  incarnates  a  uni- 
versal thought  and  expresses  an  appropriate  honor. 
In  every  country,  if  the  bride  have  wealth  she 
takes  from  her  jewel  case  rare  ornaments  for  her 
adornment.  Beloved,  the  church  is  Christ's  re- 
deemed, beatified,  and  beautified  bride.  He  came 
from  heaven  to  woo  and  to  win  her ;  he  sought 
and  found  her ;  he  redeemed,  exalted,  and  glori- 
fied her ;  he  loves  her  with  an  everlasting  love. 
She  marches  triumphantly  through  the  wilderness, 
leaning  joyfully  and  trustfully  on  the  arm  of  her 
Beloved.  She  is  going  up  to  take  her  place  by  his 
side  and  his  throne.  His  throne  is  large  enough 
to  welcome  to  his  side  all  his  redeemed  ;  they  are 
to  share  in  his  glory  and  to  rejoice  in  his  victory. 
Will  you  accept  the  honors  which  he  offers  to 
those  who  become  kings  and  priests  unto  him 
and  joint-heirs  with  him  to  his  cross  and  throne .'' 

O  glorious  bride  of  Christ,  redeemed  by  his 
grace,  adorned  by  his  robe,  glorified  by  his  pres- 
ence, march  through  this  world  singing  already  the 
first  notes  of  that  song  which  shall  fill  heaven's 
arches  with  its  melodious  music  when  the  bride 
shall  be  seated  with  the  heavenly  Bridegroom  on 
his  glorious  throne. 


THE  INTREPID  STATESMAN 


Now  when  Daniel  knew  that  the  writing  was  signed,  he 
went  into  his  house ;  and,  his  windows  being  open  in  his 
chamber  toward  Jertisalem,  he  kneeled  upon  his  knees  three 
times  a  day,  and  prayed,  and  gave  thanks  before  his  God, 
as  he  did  aforetime.  — Dan.  6  :  lo. 


XV 


IT  is  quite  certain  that  the  prophet  Daniel  was 
one  of  the  noblest  men  whose  history  is  re- 
corded in  any  literature.  He  maintained  his  in- 
tegrity as  a  boy,  refusing  the  king's  meat  lest  he 
might  be  defiled  thereby.  He  maintained  his  in- 
tegrity as  a  man,  when  he  was  placed  over  the 
princes  and  presidents  of  the  realm  ;  and  he  still 
maintained  it  when  he  was  in  danger  of  losing  his 
life  because  of  his  loyalty  to  God.  His  life  is  one 
which  all  our  young  men  ought  to  study  ;  one  with 
which  they  ought  to  be  perfectly  familiar  ;  and  his 
example  is  one  which  they  ought  constantly  to 
imitate.  I  do  not  suppose  that  Daniel  ever  re- 
turned to  his  own  land  ;  but  he  lived  to  see  many 
of  his  highest  hopes  fulfilled  in  the  return  of  his 
people  from  the  land  of  their  captivity.  Large 
numbers  of  them  under  Cyrus  returned ;  some 
came  under  Darius,  and  some  under  Xerxes  and 
his  successors.  Daniel  was  an  old  man  when  the 
first  exiles  came  back.  Perhaps,  in  his  own  estima- 
tion, he  was  too  old  to  return  to  the  land  of  his 
fathers  and  to  begin  his  life  afresh  ;  and  perhaps, 
also,  he  considered  his  position  in  the  land  of  his 
exile  too  important  to  be  abandoned  at  his  age  and 
in  the  midst  of  his  great  official  duties.  He  might 
well  suppose  that  he  was  better  able  to  serve  God 

237 


238  THE    INTREPID    STATESMAN 

and  to  serve  the  people  of  God  by  remaining  in 
that  distant  land,  than  by  returning  to  his  early 
home.  Daniel  was  descended  from  one  of  the 
highest  families  of  Judah,  if  not  one  of  royal  blood. 
The  more  noble  a  man's  birth,  the  more  solemn 
his  position.  "  Noblesse  oblige,''  says  the  French 
proverb  ;  the  higher  a  man's  birth  the  more  binding 
are  his  obligations  to  live  a  right  life.  A  doctrine 
of  devils  has  been  promulgated  to  the  effect  that 
great  ability,  lofty  position,  and  noble  birth  absolve 
men  from  the  duty  of  developing  and  maintaining 
a  worthy  character.  Never  was  there  a  more 
Satanic  doctrine.  A  man's  responsibility  is  the 
greater  because  of  his  greater  ability  and  loftier 
position  or  attainment. 

Daniel's  birthplace  was  probably  Jerusalem. 
We  know  that  he  with  other  noble  Hebrew  youths 
was  carried  away  captive  by  Nebuchadnezzar  into 
Babylon,  probably  between  the  ages  of  fourteen 
and  sixteen.  We  know,  also,  that  he  rose  by 
degrees  from  the  position  of  a  captive  boy  to  be 
the  highest  ruler  in  the  realm.  There  is  a  most 
striking  and  beautiful  similarity  between  the  life  of 
Daniel  and  that  of  Joseph.  I  know  of  no  two 
characters  of  sacred  history  between  whose  lives  a 
parallel  can  more  appropriately  be  instituted.  As 
Joseph  rose  to  great  prominence  in  the  court  of 
Pharaoh,  so  rose  to  corresponding  prominence  in 
the  court  of  Belshazzar  this  noble  Daniel.  Both 
of  these  young  men,  without  their  consent,  were 
exiled  from  their  native  land ;  and  both  became 


THE    INTREPID    STATESMAN  239 

great  statesmen  by  personal  worth  in  the  land  of 
their  exile.  Both  preserved  their  religious  faith 
and  their  personal  purity  in  lands  of  idolatry  and 
of  gross  corruption  ;  and  both  rose  from  slavery  to 
the  highest  civic  honors.  Both  were  loyal  to  their 
God,  and  both  were  abundantly  blessed  of  God 
and  honored  of  men.  At  this  time,  however,  I 
do  not  design  to  continue  this  parallel,  nor  to  speak 
of  the  life  of  Daniel  as  a  whole,  but  rather  to  con- 
fine your  attention  to  the  special  incident  in  that 
life  suggested  by  the  text  chosen  for  the  morning. 
I.  In  the  first  place  let  vie  call  your  attention  to 
DanieV s  danger.  He  was  in  danger  of  losing  his 
life.  The  princes  conspired  against  him,  and  they 
perverted  the  mind  of  the  king.  They  were  in- 
sanely jealous  of  Daniel.  Especially  were  they 
embittered  against  him  because  he  was  a  Hebrew 
captive.  They  were  envious  of  him  because  of 
the  character  which  he  had  maintained,  and  the 
influence  which  he  exercised.  They  felt  them- 
selves outstripped  by  his  ability  and  overshadowed 
by  his  success.  Jealousy  is  born  of  perdition,  and 
it  constantly  leads  to  the  place  of  its  birth.  Suc- 
cess almost  inevitably  excites  jealousy.  There  is 
no  man  in  business  whose  success  is  marked,  who 
does  not  excite  hostility  on  the  part  of  other  men 
in  the  same  line  of  business.  There  is  no  man  of 
mark  in  the  gospel  ministry  who  does  not  excite 
the  jealousy  of  little-souled  men  who  are  capable 
of  no  noble  impulses  but  only  of  narrow  prejudices. 
Shakespeare  utters  a  universal  truth  when  he  says  : 


240  THE    INTREPID    STATESMAN 

Be  thou  chaste  as  ice,  as  pure  as  snow, 
Thou  shalt  not  escape  calumny. 

And  Pope,  in  his  "  Essay  on  Criticism,"  has  said 
with  equal  truth  ; 

Envy  will  merit,  as  its  shade,  pursue  ; 

But  like  a  shadow,  proves  the  substance  true. 

The  men  associated  with  Daniel  were  actuated 
by  this  bitter  and  Satanic  spirit.  I  do  not  know 
of  any  more  beautiful  compliment  than  these 
wicked  men  were  obliged  to  pay  to  Daniel ;  for 
they  frankly  acknowledged  that  as  regarded  the 
matters  of  the  kingdom  they  could  find  no  fault 
with  him,  and  that  the  only  criticism  they  could 
make  was  because  of  his  loyalty  to  his  God. 
Daniel  had  not  been  guilty  of  malversation  in  of- 
fice ;  he  had  not  sought  personal  aggrandizement ; 
he  had  not  been  guilty  of  the  abuse  of  power,  as  is 
so  common  in  Oriental  countries.  There  was  on 
his  part  no  lack  of  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the 
king  or  the  kingdom.  Happy  are  men  in  high 
office  when  their  political  foes  are  obliged  to  pay 
them  such  a  compliment  as  these  political  foes  of 
Daniel  paid  him  !  Happy  are  we,  as  members  of 
the  church  of  God,  when  men  can  say  of  us  that 
their  only  point  of  criticism  is  because  of  our  de- 
votion to  God  !  Noble,  happy  Daniel !  Faultless 
even  in  the  judgment  of  his  foes  except  as  re- 
garded his  religion  ;  guilty  in  the  esteem  of  his 
critics  only  because  of  his  devout  heart  and  pure 
life  !     I  would  to  God  that  our  critics  might  find 


THE    INTREPID    STATESMAN  24I 

US  like  Daniel ;  then  should  we  be  armed  in  a  coat 
of  triple  steel  against  which  the  arrows  of  criticism 
might  strike,  but  from  which  they  would  fall  point- 
less and  powerless  at  our  feet. 

He  was  in  danger,  also,  of  losing  his  integrity. 
If  to  save  his  life  he  had  been  disloyal  to  his  re- 
ligious convictions  he  would  have  lost  his  integrity, 
and  might  in  the  end  have  lost  his  life  as  well. 
Archbishop  Cranmer,  the  first  Protestant  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  who  perhaps  was  the  chief 
author  of  the  "  Thirty-nine  Articles,"  and  was  at 
the  head  of  a  commission  which  prepared  the  Lit- 
urgy of  the  Anglican  Church,  turned  traitor  to 
Protestantism  and  to  his  own  deep  convictions, 
and  in  order  to  save  his  life  denied  his  faith.  He 
was  induced  to  sign  no  fewer  than  six  recantations 
and  to  subscribe  to  the  doctrines  of  the  papal 
supremacy  and  of  the  real  presence.  He  also  re- 
canted his  recantations.  But  the  bitterness  of 
Romanism  was  so  terrible  against  him,  that  on 
March  21,  1556,  he  suffered  martyrdom  opposite 
Baliol  College.  When  he  came  to  the  stake  he 
looked  at  his  right  hand,  which  had  signed  his 
recantation,  and  said,  "  O  guilty  hand ;  perish 
first,"  and  he  thrust  that  hand  into  the  flames  and 
held  it  there  until  it  was  burned  to  a  cinder.  To 
save  his  life  he  abandoned  his  faith,  and  he  lost 
both  his  faith  and  his  life.  Macaulay  considers 
him  an  unscrupulous  time-server. 

Daniel  was  in  danger  of  losing  his  faith  and  his 
life.      It  is  easy  to  see  what  arguments  he  might 

Q 


242  THE    INTREPID    STATESMAN 

have  used  to  save  his  Hfe  :  "  Is  it  not  better  for 
me  just  to  shave  my  religious  convictions  a  little, 
to  pare  them  down  here  and  there  ?  Is  it  not 
better  for  me  to  omit  prayer  rather  than  to  incur 
the  danger  of  death  ?  May  I  not  pray  in  secret  ? 
Need  I  kneel  to  pray  ?  Is  not  my  position  most 
important  at  this  crisis  for  God's  honor,  and  for 
the  good  of  my  countrymen,  and  perhaps  for  the 
salvation  of  the  heathen  king?"  So  he  might 
have  reasoned  ;  so  some  of  us  do  reason  ;  so  some 
of  us  by  a  tone,  by  a  shrug,  by  a  look  deny  Jesus 
and  deny  our  faith.  Thank  God,  Daniel  was 
not  such  a  man.  Mr.  Spurgeon  tells  us  of  a  curi- 
ous blunder  which  a  printer  made  in  printing  a 
portion  of  the  story  of  Daniel.  Instead  of  saying, 
"  Daniel  had  an  excellent  spirit,"  the  printer  made 
the  types  say,  "  Daniel  had  an  excellent  spine." 
This  was  not  much  of  a  mistake.  Thank  God  for 
Daniel's  spine !  That  printer  was  quite  right. 
Would  to  God  we  had  men  with  excellent  spines, 
men  who  could  stand  for  truth  and  God  !  We 
need  men  who  can  stand  even  though  the  lions 
growl ;  men  who  are  firm  even  though  they  see 
the  gleam  of  the  knife  or  hear  the  noise  of  the 
rack  ;  men  who  would  gladly  die  rather  than  lose 
their  integrity ! 

He  was  in  danger  of  losing  his  soul.  When 
a  man  deliberately  puts  his  selfish  interests  before 
his  duty,  he  risks  all  that  is  sacred  in  life,  and  all 
that  is  blessed  in  eternity.  He  violates  the  very 
first  commandment  of  the  law  ;  he  has  made  self 


THE    INTREPID    STATESMAN  243 

his  god,  putting  his  cowardly  wish  before  the 
will  of  the  Almighty  Jehovah.  We  all  are  brought 
in  some  form  into  similar  trials ;  we  are  all  at 
times  in  danger  of  losing  our  life,  our  integrity, 
and  our  soul.  We  cannot  escape  such  trials  ;  per- 
haps we  ought  not  to  desire  to  escape  them.  We 
need  not  seek  crosses  ;  but  we  must  not  shun  them. 
We  ought  to  walk  trustfully  along  the  path  of  duty, 
not  asking  for  crosses  to  come  upon  us,  not  asking 
that  crosses  be  taken  from  us,  but  simply  doing 
every  duty  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  bearing  every 
cross  which  comes  with  brave  and  true  hearts. 

2.  Notice,  in  tJic  second  place,  DanieV s  decision. 
It  was  marked  by  certain  most  interesting  charac- 
teristics. In  the  first  place,  it  was  a  prompt  deci- 
sion ;  his  duty  was  not  a  matter  of  discussion. 
There  was  no  opportunity  for  differences  of  opin- 
ion as  to  what  he  ought  to  do  ;  neither  was  there 
any  ostentation  in  his  conduct.  I  would  not  en- 
dorse Daniel  if  he  had  taken  special  pains  to  go 
up  to  the  housetop  to  attract  attention,  to  chal- 
lenge criticism,  and  to  draw  the  fire  of  his  foes. 
Nothing  of  that  sort,  however,  did  he  do.  He 
simply  "  prayed,  and  gave  thanks  before  his  God 
as  he  did  aforetime."  He  changed  his  methods  in 
no  particular  ;  he  moved  quietly  along  the  line  of 
his  usual  and  exalted  duty.  He  did  not  take  coun- 
sel with  flesh  and  blood.  It  was  a  matter  not  open 
for  discussion.  In  this  respect  his  conduct  is 
worthy  of  praise.  The  moment  a  man  parleys 
with  the  devil,  that  moment  he  has  partially  yielded 


244  THE    INTREPID    STATESMAN 

to  the  devil.  The  moment  a  man  hesitates  about 
doing  right,  when  the  difference  between  right 
and  wrong  is  clearly  put  before  him,  that  moment 
he  has  done  wrong.  We  ought  to  be  so  cour- 
ageous that  we  would  not  hesitate  a  moment  when 
the  distinction  between  right  and  wrong  is  put 
before  us.  We  ought  to  go  straight  up  to  the  line 
of  duty,  the  line  of  obedience,  the  line  of  right  be- 
fore God  and  before  men.  Promptness  always 
disarms  the  tempter.  A  young  boy  left  home  for 
college,  and  among  his  experiences  were  solicita- 
tions to  drink  intoxicating  liquors.  "  Come  and 
have  something,"  said  his  companions.  His  reply 
was,  "  Gentlemen,  I  never  drink.  We  are  to  be 
associated  for  four  years ;  I  hope  you  will  find  me 
a  good  fellow,  but  I  will  never  drink."  If  he  had 
hesitated,  if  he  had  shilly-shallied,  if  he  had  said 
a  weak  "no,"  there  being  a  "yes  "  wrapped  up  in 
it,  there  would  have  come  repetitions  of  their  in- 
vitation, and  perhaps  yielding  on  his  part.  But 
there  was  no  "  yes  "  in  the  "  no  "  ;  it  was  a  courte- 
ous "no  "  ;  it  was  a  "  no  "  expressive  of  apprecia- 
tion of  their  intended  but  mistaken  courtesy,  but 
it  was  a  "  no  "  which  rang  out  like  the  crack  of  a 
rifle  on  a  frosty  morning.  No  gentleman  will 
urge  a  young  man  the  second  time  if  he  says 
"no"  in  that  fashion.  He  who  continues  to  so- 
licit, after  such  a  refusal,  is  not  a  gentleman.  I 
would  that  that  same  spirit  might  characterize  all 
our  acts.  I  would  that  all  young  men,  and  older 
men,  who  hear  me  to-day  might   be   able  to   say 


THE    INTREPID    STATESMAN  245 

"  NO  "  to  every  temptation  of  the  devil.  I  would 
that  all  my  boys  in  the  flesh,  as  well  as  my  boys 
in  the  faith,  these  noble  boys  who  are  so  loved  in 
the  church,  going  out  into  business,  into  college, 
and  everywhere,  might  be  able  to  say  "no"  to 
every  temptation.  O  boys,  keep  yourselves  clean, 
sweet,  and  pure.  Be  Josephs !  Be  Daniels ! 
Stand  up,  stand  up,  for  truth,  for  purity,  for  man- 
liness, for  God  ;  and  God  will  shut  the  mouths  of 
the  lions,  and  cool  the  flames  of  the  furnace  for 
you. 

We  notice,  also,  that  it  was  a  very  courageous 
decision.  Daniel  well  knew  what  that  decision 
meant  ;  he  well  knew  the  bitterness  of  his  foes. 
Perhaps  he  did  not  suppose  that  they  could  secure 
the  signing  of  this  foolish  law,  but  they  did  secure 
it.  I  wonder  that  Darius  signed  it ;  but  perhaps 
he  was  somewhat  indifferent,  as  many  monarchs 
often  are,  and  signed  it  thoughtlessly.  Or  per- 
haps he  signed  it  because  it  was  very  flattering  to 
him  to  be  called  a  god.  Darius  to  be  a  god  for 
thirty  days  !  But  when  I  remember  that  Alexander 
wished  to  be  adored  as  a  god,  and  that  Xerxes 
did  things  as  foolish  as  are  here  attributed  to 
Darius,  I  am  not  surprised  that  Darius  was  not 
stronger  than  Xerxes  or  Alexander.  The  great 
king  signed  the  law.  It  may  have  seemed  to  him 
that  this  was  a  convenient  method  of  testing  the 
loyalty  of  the  people.  It  may  also  have  been  sug- 
gested that  there  was  danger  of  an  outbreak  and 
that  this  law  would  effectually  prevent  it.     Daniel 


246  THE    INTREPID    STATESMAN 


knew  that  the  law  was  signed,  and  he  acted  intel- 
ligently, calmly,  and  courageously.  Brave  Daniel ! 
Noble  Daniel ! 

There  was  no  excitement  in  his  manner.  He 
was  calm  in  spirit  as  he  walked  to  his  place  of 
prayer.  The  windows  were  open  toward  Jerusa- 
lem, in  the  usual  manner.  In  the  warm  climate 
of  Babylon  they  were  naturally  open.  Daniel  of- 
fered up  his  prayers  with  his  face  toward  Jerusa- 
lem, as  became  an  exiled  Hebrew.  Courage  is 
contagious.  A  young  man  who  dares  to  do  right 
becomes  a  leader.  The  conscience  of  every  other 
young  man  is  on  his  side.  Their  words  may  be 
weak  and  cowardly,  but  their  consciences  are  on 
the  side  of  the  man  who  does  right.  Frederick 
Robertson  said,  when  perplexed  by  doubt,  when 
walking  at  times  in  darkness,  "  One  thing  I  know  ; 
it  must  be  right  to  do  right."  Did  you  ever  think 
of  the  origin  of  our  word  "wrong".-'  Wrong  is 
something  that  is  wrung  ;  it  is  properly  the  parti- 
ciple of  wring,  although  it  occurs  as  a  noun  as 
early  as  1 124  ;  it  is  what  is  twisted,  what  is  wrung 
or  wrested  from  the  right  or  ordered  line  of  con- 
duct ;  it  is  wrong  because  it  is  wrung.  Right  is 
rectus,  straight,  the  participle  of  the  Latin  verb 
regerc,  to  order,  to  command ;  and  so  "  right " 
is  what  is  ordered,  commanded,  laid  down  in  the 
laws  of  eternal  justice,  the  laws  of  the  eternal 
God.  Right  wert  thou,  O  Scottish  poet,  im- 
mortal Sir  Walter,  right  wert  thou,  when  thou 
didst  say : 


THE    INTREPID    STATESMAN  247 

Oh  !  what  a  tangled  web  we  weave 
When  first  we  practise  to  deceive. 

In  the  meshes  of  that  web  a  man  will  be  en- 
tangled until  he  loses  all  that  is  dear  to  a  true 
man,  and  all  that  is  precious  in  the  sight  of  high 
heaven.  Oh,  let  us  not  practise  to  deceive,  and 
thus  make  such  a  web ! 

3.  In  the  last  place,  emphasize  DanieVs  deliver- 
ance. Possibly  a  certain  sort  of  faith  in  God  made 
even  the  heathen  king  believe  that  God  would  de- 
liver Daniel.  The  king  suffered  greatly  when  he 
found  it  necessary  to  punish  Daniel,  He  had 
plainly  violated  the  law,  and  in  this  respect  his 
guilt  was  undeniable  ;  but  the  king  doubtless  was 
much  displeased  with  himself  for  having  framed 
such  a  decree.  He  saw  that  this  law  was  un- 
worthy of  him  as  the  king  of  a  great  people ;  he 
saw  also  that  it  had  involved  in  technical  guilt  a 
man  of  unsullied  character  and  the  first  officer  in 
the  realm.  But  he  knew  of  no  way  by  which  he 
could  evade  the  penalty  which  the  law  decreed, 
notwithstanding  his  heart  was  set  on  delivering 
Daniel. 

The  enemies  of  Daniel  most  skillfully  urged 
his  punishment,  reminding  the  king  that  he  was 
one  of  the  captive  Jews  and  suggesting  that  he 
had  shown  an  open  contempt  of  the  royal  au- 
thority, and  the  king  found  no  way  by  which  he 
could  abrogate  the  law.  The  law  of  the  Medes 
and  Persians  was  unchangeable.  The  sun  went 
down  while  he  was  earnestly  laboring  to  devise 


248  THE    INTREPID    STATESMAN 

some  means  by  which  the  integrity  of  the  law 
could  be  preserved  and  yet  the  punishment  decreed 
be  remitted.  But  the  law  was  clear  and  its  viola- 
tion was  undeniable,  and  there  seemed  no  way  of 
escape  but  that  it  should  take  its  course.  The 
king  finally  was  obliged  to  command  that  Daniel 
be  cast  into  the  den  of  lions.  Recent  discoveries 
among  the  ruins  of  Babylon  prove  that  this  mode 
of  punishment  was  not  uncommon  in  that  city  and 
country.  The  king  still  cherished  the  hope  that 
the  God  of  Daniel  would  in  some  way  interpose 
for  his  deliverance.  He  had  absolute  confidence 
in  the  integrity  of  Daniel  and  a  vague  hope  that 
the  God  of  heaven  would  display  his  power  for  the 
protection  of  his  loyal  servant.  But  the  stone  is 
brought  and  laid  upon  the  mouth  of  the  den  and 
the  king  sealed  it  with  his  own  signet.  He  then 
went  to  his  own  palace,  not  to  eat,  drink,  and  be 
merry,  but  to  spend  the  night  in  fasting.  No  in- 
struments of  music  cheered  his  disconsolate  heart. 
He  passed  the  night  supperless  and  sleepless. 
With  the  dawn  of  the  morning  he  arose,  his  deep 
anxiety  making  him  haste  unto  the  den  of  lions. 
With  a  voice  of  deep  solicitude  he  called  for  Daniel, 
the  servant  of  the  living  God.  To  his  delight  his 
call  is  answered  by  Daniel's  prompt  and  loyal 
reply.  Daniel  assures  him  that  God  had  sent 
his  angel  and  had  shut  the  mouths  of  the  lions. 
Daniel  believed  that  this  result  was  accomplished 
by  a  miracle.  The  occasion  was  fitting  for  a  di- 
vine interposition.     Daniel  asserts  his  innocency 


THE    INTREPID    STATESMAN  249 

and  rejoicingly  affirms  that  he  had  received  no  hurt. 
With  joy  the  king  commanded  that  Daniel  be 
taken  out  of  the  den,  and  with  equal  joy  that  the 
men  who  had  accused  him  be  cast  therein,  to- 
gether with  their  wives  and  children.  The  Bible 
does  not  commend  the  act  of  the  heathen  king ;  it 
simply  records  the  fact,  a  fact  which  was  in  har- 
mony with  the  common  custom  of  the  time  and 
the  country.  The  lions  had  mastery  of  Daniel's 
foes  even  before  they  reached  the  bottom  of  the 
den.  Immediately  the  king  sent  forth  his  decree 
giving  honor  to  Daniel,  to  the  God  of  Daniel,  and 
to  the  divine  power  and  justice  which  had  inter- 
posed for  the  delivery  of  God's  servant. 

God,  a  little  earlier  in  this  history,  when  his 
three  faithful  sei-vants,  Shadrach,  Meshach  and 
Abed-nego  had  been  cast  into  the  fiercely  heated 
furnace,  sent  One  who  was  "  like  the  Son  of  God," 
to  cool  the  flames  and  to  protect  his  children. 
Then  Nebuchadnezzar  recognized  the  God  of  these 
faithful  men  and  made  a  decree  that  the  people 
of  every  nation  and  language  who  should  speak 
against  the  true  God  should  be  destroyed.  God's 
resources  for  the  protection  of  his  children  are 
numerous.  He  can  prevent  the  flames  from  touch- 
ing their  persons,  and  he  can  padlock  the  mouths 
of  lions  for  their  protection.  Lions  still  stand  in 
the  pathway  of  duty  for  the  children  of  God.  But 
those  who  move  forward  in  that  pathway  shall 
find  that  the  lions  are  chained  and  their  jaws 
locked,  so  that  they  can  inflict  no  evil.     No  dan- 


250  THE    INTREPID    STATESMAN 

ger  can  come  to  any  of  us  while  we  are  in  the 
path  of  duty. 

What  are  the  names  of  the  men  who  cast  God's 
children  into  the  fiery  furnace  ?  You  do  not  know. 
No  one  knows.  They  were  never  recorded.  The 
memory  of  the  wicked  perisheth,  but  the  righteous 
are  in  everlasting  remembrance.  Daniel's  name 
shines  in  the  firmament  of  biblical  history  as  a  star 
of  brighest  light  and  greatest  magnitude  ;  but  the 
names  of  his  foes  are  unrecorded.  Let  us  stand 
for  duty,  for  truth,  for  God.  All  his  enemies  and 
ours  shall  perish.  But  as  we  read  in  the  same 
book,  "  They  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  bright- 
ness of  the  firmament ;  and  they  that  turn  many 
to  righteousness,  as  the  stars  forever  and  ever." 


THE  ROYAL  PENITENT 


Restore  unto  me  the  joy  of  thy  salvation;  and  uphold  me 
with  thy  free  spirit.  Then  will  I  teach  transgressors  thy 
ways ;  and  sinners  shall  be  converted  unto  thee.  — Ps.  j/  .■ 

12,    I  J. 


XVI 

THIS  psalm  is  known  as  one  of  the  penitential 
psalms.  It  expresses  an  unfeigned  peni- 
tence and  a  humble  confession.  It  also  voices  an 
earnest  prayer  for  restoration  to  the  favor  of  God. 
It  contains  solemn  vows  of  consecration  for  future 
conduct.  It  is  the  first  of  a  series  of  psalms 
ascribed  to  David  in  what  is  called  the  second 
book  of  the  Psalter,  and  written  when  his  con- 
science was  aroused  by  the  prophet  Nathan.  Be- 
fore that  time,  we  may  well  be  assured,  that  re- 
morse had  robbed  him  of  joy,  but  now  with  the 
confession  of  his  sin  came  the  experience  of  for- 
giveness. Perowne  reminds  us  that  nowhere  else 
in  the  Old  Testament  do  we  find  so  true  a  confes- 
sion, so  humble  a  trust,  and  so  unfeigned  a  peni- 
tence as  here.  He  also  affirms  that  this  psalm 
and  the  thirty-second  justify  the  title  given  to 
David  as  "the  man  after  God's  own  heart."  Al- 
though his  sin  had  been  great,  it  was  not  the  sin 
of  an  utterly  hardened  and  selfish  man.  It  was 
rather  the  sin  of  one  overtaken  with  evil  and  anx- 
ious now  for  the  removal  of  guilt.  If  David 
was  a  great  sinner  he  was  also  a  great  penitent. 
Carlyle  rebukes  those  who  magnify  David's  guilt 
and  minimize  his  penitence.  This  psalm  seems  to 
have  been  written  before  the  thirty-second.     This 

253 


254  THE    ROYAL    PENITENT 

psalm  is  David's  great  confession  ;  that  psalm  is 
the  record  of  the  forgiveness  which  he  obtained. 
It  has  been  well  said  that  in  this  psalm  he  is  the 
prodigal  saying,  "  Father,  I  have  sinned,"  and  in 
the  thirty-second  psalm  he  is  a  son  restored  to  his 
Father's  heart  looking  up  into  his  Father's  loving 
face  and  saying,  "Thou  art  my  hiding-place." 

I .  We  have,  in  the  first  place,  m  the  text,  David 's 
prayer.  This  prayer  implies  that  the  royal  peti- 
tioner had  lost  the  joy  of  salvation.  The  literal 
translation  of  his  words  is,  "  Cause  the  joy  of  thy 
salvation  to  return."  The  first  verb  is  a  causative 
in  Hebrew,  and  it  clearly  implies  that  he  previ- 
ously had  possession  of  that  for  whose  return  he 
now  prays.  His  communion  with  God  had  been 
interrupted  by  the  sins  which  he  had  committed, 
and  the  joy  of  salvation  was  impossible  when  spir- 
itual communion  was  interrupted.  Unfortunately 
the  absence  of  joy  as  the  result  of  sin  is  not  an 
unknown  experience  in  the  Christian  life.  It  may 
be  caused  by  open  and  continuous  sin  against  God 
as  our  Father  and  Saviour.  Believers  will  then 
lose  the  joy  of  their  first  love  ;  they  will  lose  the 
peace  which  comes  from  loving  obedience  to  Christ ; 
their  soul  will  then  be  sunless,  joyless,  and  at  times 
hopeless.  The  joy  of  salvation  may  be  lost  by  a 
spirit  of  worldliness  often  when  there  is  no  marked 
act  of  disobedience  against  God.  The  world  is 
not  the  friend  of  Jesus  Christ.  Jesus  Christ  over- 
came the  world  and  we  in  him  may  win  a  like  vic- 
tory.     He  clearly  taught  us  that  there  is  and  ever 


THE    ROYAL    PENITENT  255 

must  be  opposition  between  the  spirit  of  worldli- 
ness  and  the  spirit  of  godhness.  The  world  creeps 
in  upon  us  as  a  slow  but  deadly  paralysis.  It  ad- 
ministers to  us  a  soothing  but  dangerous  opiate  ; 
it  wraps  us  in  an  anassthetic  slumber  which  will 
prove  to  be  our  spiritual  death  if  we  are  not 
speedily  aroused.  There  is  in  Brazil  a  plant 
known  as  the  ^^  matador''  or  murderer,  which 
creeps  along  the  ground  and  finally  climbs  a  tree 
which  it  will  hold  fast  in  its  embrace  until  the  tree 
actually  dies.  The  armlike  tendrils  surround  the 
tree  as  the  "  matador "  rises  higher  and  higher 
and  its  ligatures  grow  larger  and  clasp  the  tree 
more  tightly.  The  parasite  finally  sends  out  a 
flowering  head  above  the  struggling  and  dying 
tree,  and  its  seeds  later  drop  into  the  ground,  again 
to  dp  their  work  of  death  for  other  trees.  What 
this  deadly  plant  is  to  the  trees  of  the  forest, 
worldliness  often  is  to  Christians  growing  in  the 
vineyard  of'  the  Lord.  We  must  guard  against  it 
with  the  utmost  watchfulness.  It  may  destroy  us 
as  it  did  Demas,  as  it  did  Judas,  and  as  it  has  de- 
stroyed thousands  since  the  early  days  of  the 
church.  There  can  be  no  real  joy  in  the  Lord 
while  this  spirit  of  worldliness  is  in  the  hearts  of 
believers. 

The  absence  of  joy  will  also  be  caused  by  the 
neglect  of  duty.  Duty  well  done  is  productive  of 
increasing  joy  in  Christian  service.  God  demands 
nothing  of  his  children  which  their  best  interests 
here  and  hereafter  do  not  incline  them  to  give  in 


256  THE    ROYAL    PENITENT 

response  to  God's  demand.  Neglect  of  duty  must 
assuredly  bring  darkness,  sorrow,  and  death  into 
the  soul.  There  may  come  with  temporal  bless- 
ings leanness  in  the  spiritual  life  ;  there  may  come 
darkness  in  the  spiritual  life  while  the  light  of 
earthly  prosperity  shines  upon  our  pathway.  Happy 
are  they  who  guard  against  the  danger  of  neglect ; 
happy  are  they  whose  consciences  are  pricked  with 
the  remembrance  of  broken  vows  and  neglected 
duties  in  the  Christian  life.  God  has  made  pain 
the  messenger  of  danger  which  might  threaten 
the  body.  Pain  gives  its  warning  and  declares  the 
need  of  an  appropriate  remedy.  In  the  spiritual 
life  we  shall  also  feel  the  prick  of  neglected  duty 
if  our  consciences  are  sensitive  and  our  hearts  are 
warm.  One  element  of  hope  in  a  joyless  Chris- 
tian life  is  the  realization  of  its  joylessness,  and 
the  earnest  prayer  that  the  absent  joy  may  be  re- 
stored. Nothing  is  sadder  than  that  men  dying 
of  hunger  sometimes  have  visions  of  tables  spread 
bountifully  with  all  that  taste  can  desire  ;  nothing 
sadder  than  that  men  who  are  perishing  with  cold 
become  benumbed  with  slumber,  are  conscious  of 
neither  discomfort  nor  danger,  and  wish  only  to 
lie  down  and  sleep  what  will  become  the  sleep  of 
death.  May  God  help  us  to  remember  that  our 
first  love  may  be  restored  and  our  early  joy  may 
be  increased  ! 

This  thought  leads  us  to  another  element  in 
David's  prayer,  the  expression  of  desire  to  have 
the  joy  of  salvation   restored.      It  is  most  impor- 


THE    ROYAL    PENITENT  257 

tant  for  our  happiness  and  usefulness  in  the  Chris- 
tian life  that  we  should  have  joy  in  that  life.  We 
are  not  slaves,  but  freemen  ;  we  are  not  servants, 
but  friends.  There  is,  of  course,  a  sense  in  which 
we  are  the  slaves  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  Apostle 
Paul  loved  to  describe  himself  as  the  "slave  of 
Jesus  Christ,"  but  such  slavery  is  the  most  blessed 
kind  of  freedom  ;  such  slavery  is  the  noblest  ele- 
ment in  the  grandest  manhood.  Never  is  one  in 
a  sadder  case  than  when  he  is  conscious  of  the  ab- 
sence of  Christian  joy,  and  conscious  also  that  he 
does  not  desire  its  return.  If  ever  a  man  should 
pray  it  is  when  he  has  no  desire  to  pray ;  if  ever 
a  man  is  in  danger  it  is  when  he  thinks  he  is  rich 
and  increasing  in  goods  and  has  no  need  of  Christ 
and  of  the  joy  of  salvation.  There  can  be  no 
strength  in  Christian  service  if  joy  is  wanting. 
There  is  a  divine  philosophy  in  the  statement  of 
Scripture,  "  the  joy  of  the  Lord  is  your  strength." 
Joy  in  the  Christian  life  is  not  simply  a  privilege ; 
it  is  a  duty.  The  Apostle  Paul  commands  us  to 
rejoice  and  to  rejoice  always.  There  is  power  for 
God  in  the  consciousness  of  fullness  of  life  and 
joyousness  in  his  service. 

The  psalmist's  prayer  expresses  also  a  desire 
that  he  might  maintain  a  worthy  character — "and 
uphold  me  with  thy  free  spirit."  The  best  inter- 
pretation of  this  clause  refers  the  word  spirit  here 
to  David's  spirit  and  not  to  the  Holy  Spirit.  The 
Holy  Spirit  is  not  excluded,  but  the  primary  ref- 
erence  is  to  the  spirit  of  the  petitioner  himself ; 

R 


258  THE    ROYAL    PENITENT 

the  reference  is  to  David's  spirit  as  acted  on  by 
the  Spirit  of  God.  The  words  "  that  thy  "  are 
added  by  the  translators.  The  word  rendered 
"free"  properly  means  willing,  spontaneous, 
prompt,  voluntary,  and  then  noble  and  princely. 
David  had  acted  an  utterly  unworthy,  unsoldierly, 
unmanly,  unprincely,  and  ungodly  part.  He  did 
well  to  be  ashamed  of  the  course  which  he  had  pur- 
sued. Now  he  prays  to  be  upheld  in  an  altogether 
different  spirit.  He  prays  that  God  would  give 
him  a  willing,  noble,  manly  spirit ;  that  God  would 
enable  him  to  preserve  and  to  manifest  the  spirit 
of  willing  and  ready  obedience  to  all  the  commands 
of  God.  He  prayed  for  grace  that  he  might  stand 
firm  and  strong  in  the  service  of  his  divine  King. 
This  is  always  a  proper  object  of  desire  and  prayer. 
The  inconsistent  man  is  always  a  weak  man.  How 
can  he  rebuke  sin  while  he  lives  in  sin  ?  How 
can  he  recommend  holiness  while  he  lives  in  the 
neglect  of  holiness }  What  he  builds  up  with  one 
hand  he  destroys  with  the  other  hand.  What  he 
teaches  with  his  lip  he  denies  with  his  life.  The 
man  who  lives  consistently  before  God  will  live 
influentially  before  men.  This  was  eminently  an 
appropriate  element  in  David's  prayer ;  it  is  a 
quality  fitting  in  the  prayers  of  God's  people  to- 
day. Good  men  have  fallen  ;  the  best  man,  if 
neglectful  of  God  and  unwatchful  of  Satan,  may 
fall.  We  have  great  need  to  listen  to  the  divine 
exhortation,  "  Let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth, 
take  heed  lest  he  fall."     We  must  daily,  hourly. 


THE    ROYAL    PENITENT  259 

watch  and  pray,  lest  we  be  led  into  temptation. 
Let  us  to-day  make  this  part  of  David's  prayer  our 
own,  praying  that  we  may  be  upheld  in  a  willing, 
prompt,  generous,  noble,  and  obedient  spirit  before 
God  and  men. 

2.  JVe  have,  in  tJic  second  place,  David''  s  promise. 
As  an  expression  of  gratitude  to  God,  he  promises 
that  he  will  teach  transgressors  God's  ways.  It  is 
interesting  to  see  how  the  personal  element  is  here 
introduced  into  this  promise.  He  himself  will  en- 
gage in  this  blessed  work.  No  one  was  now  more 
fit  for  that  work  than  he.  He  had  wandered 
away  from  noble  arid  manly  conduct ;  he  had 
sinned  against  a  brave  and  loyal  soldier  ;  he  had 
sinned  against  womanhood  ;  he  had  sinned  against 
himself;  and  he  had  sinned  against  God.  But 
when  the  sense  of  forgiveness  and  the  joy  of  sal- 
vation came  into  his  soul,  he  was  ready  to  use  his 
painful  experience  to  teach  others  the  way  of  peni- 
tence and  peace.  Men  must  themselves  be  par- 
doned before  they  can  tell  others  of  him  who  will 
pardon  their  sins.  The  blind  cannot  safely  lead 
the  blind.  Men  need  to  be  taught  by  their  fellow- 
men  ;  and  all  who  are  taught  of  God  should  be 
willing  to  become  teachers  of  men.  David  was  a 
king,  he  was  at  the  head  of  great  armies  ;  still  he 
was  willing  to  be  the  teacher  of  great  sinners. 
The  best  we  have  should  be  given  to  our  fellow- 
men  in  service  for  Jesus  who  has  redeemed  us 
with  his  precious  blood.  David  could  now  show 
to  those  about  him   the  fearful   consequences  of 


26o  THE    ROYAL    PENITENT 

sin  ;  he  could  also  beautifully  explain  the  nature 
of  true  repentance,  and  he  could  eloquently  de- 
scribe the  full  and  free  forgiveness  which  God 
promises  to  the  truly  penitent.  After  the  Apostle 
Peter  had  fallen  under  the  power  of  temptation, 
and  then  had  turned  back  from  the  evil  way,  the 
Saviour  said  to  him,  "  And  when  thou  art  con- 
verted strengthen  thy  brethren."  A  similar  duty 
rests  upon  each  of  us.  When  we  have  been  pro- 
tected from  any  evil  and  have  been  made  the  re- 
cipients of  any  good,  we  are  to  give  others  the 
benefit  of  our  two-fold  experience.  There  is  noth- 
ing selfish  in  religion  ;  the  more  we  give  away  the 
more  we  have.  The  more  we  strive  to  keep  for 
ourselves  the  less  we  have  for  ourselves  or  for 
others.  There  is  a  profound  philosophy  in  all  the 
commands  of  God  to  his  children,  and  in  all  the  ex- 
periences of  men  in  their  efforts  to  keep  God's 
commandments. 

David  promises  to  teach  transgressors.  All 
men  are  in  some  sense  transgressors  of  the  law  of 
God.  The  more  men  transgress  the  more  they 
ought  to  be  taught  by  those  who  are  able  to  im- 
part spiritual  gifts.  The  possession  of  spiritual 
gifts  is  God's  call  to  us  for  their  bestowal.  The 
need  of  spiritual  gifts  is  man's  call  to  us  to  give 
them  needed  help.  Deep  calls  unto  deep,  the 
depth  of  sin  in  men  to  the  depth  of  mercy  in  God. 

David  will  also  teach  transgressors  the  very  best 
of  truths — he  will  teach  them  God's  ways.  What 
particular  ways  of  God  shall  he  most  appropriately 


teach  to  the  transgressors  of  God's  law  ?     He  may 
well  begin  by  teaching  the  certainty  of  God  s  ways 
of  punishment.     God  will  not  be  mocked  ;  what- 
soever a  man  soweth  that  shall  he  also  reap      We 
cannot  separate  between  sin  and  sorrow.     Sorrow 
must  follow  sin  as  shadow  its  substance  ;  as  well 
mio-ht  a  man  hurl  himself  from  the  top  of  a  lofty 
cm,  and  expect  by  some  trick  of  legerdemain  to 
escape  being  dashed  to  pieces  on  the  rocks  below, 
as  to  sin  against  God  and  not  suffer  the  conse- 
quences of  his  sin.     There  is  a  law  of  moral  as 
truly  as  of  physical  agriculture,  inseparably  con- 
necting the  harvest  reaped  with  the  gram  sown. 
But,  thank  God,  David  could  also  teach  transgres- 
sors God's  ways  of  pardon ;  he  could  remmd  them 
that  God  "abundantly  pardons,"  when  the  smner 
forsakes  his  way   and  the    unrighteous   man    his 
thoughts.     He   had   experienced   the   fullness  of 
God's  pardon.     As  Mr.  Spurgeon  has  said  in  his 
comments  on  this  verse:    "Reclaimed    poachers 
make  the  best  gamekeepers.     Huntingdon  s  de- 
gree of  S   S.,  or  Sinner  Saved,  is  more  needful  for 
a  soul-winning  evangelist  than  either  M.  A.,  or  D. 
D"      He  could  also    most   sweetly  teach   Gods 
ways  of  upholding  and  of  blessing  penitent  sinners^ 
This  was  a  valuable  experience  for  David.     God 
can  overrule  even  our  wanderings  from  him  so  as 
to  make  them  the  channel  of  rich  blessings  to  our 

fellow-men. 

3     We  have,  in  the  third  place,  David  s  persua- 
sion—-^nd  sinners  shall  be  converted  unto  thee." 


262  THE    ROYAL    PENITENT 

Of  this  result  David  now  had  no  doubt.  He  was 
persuaded  that  he  would  reach  and  influence  sin- 
ners. There  was  now,  in  some  sense,  a  bond  of 
sympathy  between  him  and  transgressors ;  they 
would  learn  from  his  example  the  misery  of  sin 
and  the  manner  in  which  divine  mercy  might  be 
found.  Having  turned  to  God  himself  and  having 
experienced  divine  forgiveness  he  is  now  able  to 
warn  and  to  win  other  souls  from  sin  to  God.  He 
was  fully  persuaded  that  through  his  instrumen- 
tality transgressors  would  be  moved  to  action.  The 
word  translated  "shall  be  converted"  is  not  a 
passive  verb  ;  it  is  an  active  form  of  the  verb  ex- 
pressing the  idea,  shall  turn  or  return.  He  be- 
lieved that  rebels,  traitors,  and  apostates  should 
now  return  to  the  Lord  whom  they  had  neglected, 
opposed,  and  despised.  It  is  important  to  call 
attention  to  the  fact  that  this  is  the  active  and  not 
the  passive  verb.  The  work  of  turning  has  to  be 
done  by  transgressors  themselves  ;  they  are  not  to 
wait  until  God  turns  them  ;  they  are  themselves 
to  turn.  Having  walked  away  from  God  they  are 
now  to  turn  and  walk  toward  God.  This  is  the 
end  to  be  sought  in  all  conversions.  Men  have 
been  wandering  from  God  ;  they  must  now  return 
to  God.  Our  labors  on  behalf  of  transgressors 
are  comparatively  worthless  unless  this  sublime 
result  is  secured.  We  may  not  cease  in  our  en- 
deavors on  their  behalf  until  they  have  actually 
abandoned  their  evil  ways,  returned  unto  God,  and 
received  his  abundant  pardon. 


THE    ROYAL    PENITENT  263 

This  end  David  felt  sure  would  be  accomplished 
in  the  efforts  he  promised  to  make ;  he  believed 
that  the  return  of  transgressors  would  be  com- 
plete ;  that  they  should  indeed  return  unto  God. 
If  they  stopped  short  of  coming  thus  unto  God, 
their  return  or  conversion  would  be  but  partial  and 
so  practically  worthless.  It  is  well  that  men  be 
moved  toward  reformation  ;  but  we  must  not  be 
satisfied  with  partial  or  even  apparently  complete 
reformation.  Regeneration  and  not  mere  reforma- 
tion is  to  be  sought  by  us  on  their  behalf  and  by 
themselves  on  their  own  behalf.  This  is  the  sub- 
lime and  glorious  end  at  which  we  and  they  are 
constantly  to  aim. 

These  are,  indeed,  remarkable  words  which  we 
have  been  studying.  Too  many  of  us,  it  is  to  be 
feared,  like  David  may  have  lost  the  joy  of  salva- 
tion. Many  start  out  with  enthusiasm  and  vigor 
in  the  Christian  life  and  run  well  for  a  season  ; 
they  then  drop  out  of  the  Christian  race  and  seldom 
frequent  the  ways  of  Zion.  Their  conduct  is  one 
of  the  greatest  sorrows  in  pastoral  life.  Were  a 
pastor  to  look  only  on  that  side  of  his  work  his 
heart  would  break  with  its  continuous  aching. 
He  would  feel  disposed  to  surrender  his  commis- 
sion, and  never  to  counsel  his  younger  brethren  to 
enter  the  Christian  ministry.  But  we  ought  not 
to  look  only  on  that  side  of  Christian  life  and 
work.  Others  begin  well,  continue  loyal,  and  end 
the  Christian  course  in  triumph.  Doubtless,  how- 
ever, there  are  those  present  this  morning  who  are 


264  THE    ROYAL    PENITENT 

walking  in  gloom.  They  remember  with  a  well- 
defined  longing  the  joy  of  their  first  love.  They 
dwell  occasionally  with  sadness  upon  the  joy  which 
they  experienced  in  the  day  of  their  espousal  to 
Christ,  and  occasionally  they  pray  as  does  the  psalm- 
ist, that  the  joy  of  salvation  might  be  restored. 
This  is  an  appropriate  prayer.  Is  there  one  pres- 
ent from  whom  the  light  of  God's  countenance  is 
withdrawn  ?  There  really  is  no  mystery  in  this 
experience ;  there  is  here  a  relation  between  cause 
and  effect  which  is  as  invariable  as  in  other  rela- 
tions in  life.  The  cause  of  our  spiritual  darkness 
may  readily  be  discovered,  and  it  may  be  wholly 
removed.  Be  frank  with  yourself  ;  be  honest  with 
God  ;  face  the  matter  in  a  genuine  and  manly  way. 
With  a  deep  sense  both  of  privilege  and  duty  re- 
move the  cause  ;  no  Christian  can  have  joy  who 
lives  away  from  God.  As  well  might  a  man  ex- 
pect light  and  heat  from  the  sun  while  he  insisted 
upon  living  in  a  dark  cave.  How  unreasonable  he 
would  be  to  complain  of  the  dampness,  darkness, 
and  death  which  he  would  experience,  while  he  re- 
solutely refused  to  come  out  of  the  cave  into  God's 
sunshine.  O  man,  the  light  of  God's  reconciled 
countenance  may  be  lifted  upon  thee ;  let  that 
light  fall  now  upon  thine  own  upturned  face.  Come 
out  of  the  dark  cave  of  self  and  sin  ;  let  the  sun- 
shine of  God  give  thee  a  baptism  of  blessing  in 
light  and  warmth  to-day.  Never  did  father  wait 
for  the  return  of  his  prodigal  son  with  the  gentle- 
ness and  loving-kindness  with  which  God  will  re- 


1 


THE    ROYAL    PENITENT  265 

ceive  thee,  if  thou  wilt  but  go  to  his  fatherly  arms 
and  heart  to-day.  Have  you  come  back  in  this 
spirit  ?  Then  your  joy  is  full ;  then  your  duty  is 
clear ;  go  out  to  bless  others.  Freely  ye  have  re- 
ceived, freely  give.  God  bestows  upon  us  that  we 
may  bestow  upon  others.  Havmg  labored  to  teach 
transgressors  God's  ways,  let  us  with  unquestion- 
ing faith  expect  immediate  and  blessed  results. 
Sinners  shall  be  converted  unto  God ;  and  angels 
shall  rejoice  over  these  returning  penitents.  As 
sure  as  God  is  God,  we  shall  reap  if  we  faint  not. 
Then  to-day  let  us  make  this  prayer  offered  so 
long  ago  our  own,  this  promise  our  own,  this 
persuasion  our  own,  and  we  and  other  penitent 
transgressors  shall  have  unspeakable  good,  and  the 
great  and  gentle  and  forgiving  God  shall  have  un- 
ending glory. 


THE  PRACTICAL  THINKER 


/  thought  on  my  ways,  and  turned  my  feet  unto  thy  testi- 
monies. — Ps.  iig  :  J  p. 


XVII 

THE  psalm  from  which  this  text  is  taken  is 
known  as  one  of  the  alphabetical  psalms  ; 
it  is  also  familiar  to  us  as  the  longest  psalm  in  the 
Psalter.  The  characteristic  of  alphabetical  psalms 
is  that  the  first  eight  verses  begin  with  the  first 
letter  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet,  the  next  eight  with 
the  second  letter,  and  this  method  is  pursued 
throughout  the  twenty-two  letters  of  that  alphabet. 
It  is  well  understood  by  expositors  that  the  fifty- 
seventh  verse  of  this  psalm  begins  a  new  division, 
the  division  indicated  by  the  letter  "cheth."  It  is 
quite  evident  that  the  portion  of  this  psalm  begin- 
ning with  this  verse  and  going  to  the  end  of  the 
sixtieth  verse,  is  an  account  of  the  work  of  divine 
grace  on  a  human  heart.  We  have  here  a  state- 
ment of  the  divine  operation  in  religious  experience, 
from  the  first  dawn  of  its  heavenly  light  to  its  full- 
orbed  splendor.  Had  the  order  of  religious  ex- 
perience been  followed  rather  than  the  alphabetical 
order,  the  fifty-ninth  verse- — the  text  on  this  occa- 
sion— would  have  come  before  the  fifty-seventh 
verse.  In  the  text  we  have  the  sinner  reflecting 
on  his  ways  ;  in  the  fifty-seventh  verse  we  have  him 
declaring  that  God  is  his  portion  and  that  he  would 
keep  the  words  of  God.  The  text  seems  clearly  to 
refer  to  the  great   change  which  we  usually  call 

269 


270  THE    PRACTICAL    THINKER 

conversion  ;  and  perhaps  it  is  a  description  of  the 
author's  own  religious  experience.  The  first  step 
in  a  true  religious  life  he  took  when  he  began  to 
reflect  on  the  course  he  was  pursuing  and  the 
character  he  was  forming.  Then  he  paused,  as 
did  the  prodigal  son,  who  reflected  on  his  former 
life  and  his  present  condition.  Such  reflection  al- 
most invariably  precedes  the  return  to  duty  and 
to  God.  There  is  hope  for  a  man  when  he  comes 
earnesty  to  look  at  the  tendency  of  his  life,  and 
at  the  consequences  which  must  inevitably  follow 
disobedience  to  God.  As  a  result  of  the  reflec- 
tion suggested  in  the  fifty-ninth  verse,  we  have 
the  actual  obedience  described  in  the  sixtieth 
verse,  and  the  confession  in  the  fifty-seventh  verse. 
Let  us  notice  the  truths  taught  in  the  text  in  the 
order  of  their  presentation. 

I.  IVe  have  the  fact  of  earnest  thought — "/ 
thought''  on  my  ways.  The  power  of  thought  is 
man's  royal  prerogative ;  it  allies  him  to  angels 
and  to  God.  It  is  one  of  the  evidences  that  he 
was  created  in  the  image  of  God  and  for  compan- 
ionship with  God.  God  recognizes  the  glory  and 
divinity  of  this  superb  endowment  ;  and  he  appeals 
to  this  angelic  possession.  We  therefore  have  God 
speaking  to  us  through  Isaiah,  saying,  "  Come 
now,  and  let  us  reason  together,  saith  the  Lord  ; 
though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as 
white  as  snow ;  though  they  be  red  like  crimson, 
they  shall  be  as  wool."  God  does  not  hesitate  to 
submit  his  claims  to  the  consideration  of  thought- 


THE    PRACTICAL   THINKER  27I 

fill  men  and  women.  In  another  passage  in 
Isaiah  we  are  reminded  of  the  distinction  between 
God's  thoughts  and  ours  :  "  For  my  thoughts  are 
not  your  thoughts,  neither  are  your  ways  my 
ways,  saith  the  Lord.  For  as  the  heavens  are 
higher  than  the  earth,  so  are  my  ways  higher  than 
your  ways,  and  my  thoughts  than  your  thoughts." 
It  is  the  glory  of  man  that  he  should  think  God's 
thoughts.  When  science  is  studied  with  a  truly 
reverent  spirit,  whether  it  be  astronomy,  geology, 
botany,  or  any  other  natural  science,  the  student  is 
really  thinking  God's  thoughts.  He  is  to  some 
degree  living  over  again  God's  life.  All  great  ad- 
vancements in  invention  are  but  the  incarnations 
of  thought.  The  whole  world  was  once  a  thought 
in  the  mind  of  God  ;  the  world  to-day  is  that 
thought  materialized.  The  Corliss  engine  was 
once  a  thought  in  the  mind  of  its  inventor.  Tele- 
graphs, telephones,  and  phonographs  were  once 
thoughts,  dreams,  ideas ;  they  are  now  these 
thoughts,  dreams,  and  ideas  translated  into  visi- 
ble, legible,  audible,  and  practical  forms.  Much 
has  already  been  accomplished  in  the  way  of  in- 
tellectual development,  when  men  are  induced  to 
think.  Great  thoughts  sometimes  come  plowing 
their  way  through  the  soul,  bringing  aliment  to 
the  brain  ;  such  thoughts  mark  a  blessed  epoch  in 
human  experience.  For  such  experiences  as  these, 
men  ought  to  be  profoundly  grateful  ;  such  thoughts 
lift  us  to  a  higher  plane  of  life  and  enable  us  more 
fully  to  appreciate  our  kinship  with  God. 


2/2  THE    PRACTICAL    THINKER 

But  thought  is  too  seldom  exercised  in  regard 
to  divine  things.  One  of  the  charges  which  God 
brought  against  his  people  in  ancient  times  was 
their  want  of  thought  concerning  his  claims  and 
their  own  duties.  He  was  obliged  to  say,  "  The 
ox  knoweth  his  owner,  and  the  ass  his  master's 
crib  ;  but  Israel  doth  not  know,  my  people  doth 
not  consider."  His  people  would  not  understand 
his  purposes  regarding  them  and  their  privileges 
toward  him.  They  often  exhibited  the  dullness 
and  insensibility  of  animals  rather  than  the  re- 
sponsive affection  of  children.  The  same  thought 
was  more  than  once  in  the  mind  of  the  great 
Teacher.  He  echoed  in  his  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
the  charge  made  in  Isaiah  hundreds  of  years  be- 
fore. There  is  no  lack. of  opportunities  of  thought 
if  men  will  but  keep  their  eyes,  ears,  and  hearts 
open.  The  whole  world  is  voiceful  of  God's 
thoughts  to  him  who  is  attentive  to  the  heavenly 
speech.  Christ  made  the  lilies  of  the  field  preach- 
ers to  unduly  anxious  hearts.  "  Consider  the  lilies 
of  the  field  how  they  grow,"  said  the  teacher  who 
spake  as  never  man  spake.  He  found  a  text  in 
every  incident  of  life,  however  familiar.  To  him 
the  whole  earth  was  a  vast  cathedral,  resonant 
with  the  voice  and  radiant  with  the  glory  of  God. 
The  stars,  the  flowers,  the  seasons,  providences, 
and  varied  experiences,  all  declare  God's  presence 
and  reveal  his  purpose,  if  we  are  but  obedient  to 
their  instruction.  But  men  dislike  to  think  on  re- 
ligious things.     They  do  not  dare  to  go  with  a 


THE    PRACTICAL   THINKER  2/3 

lighted  candle  into  the  chambers  of  their  own 
heart.  Self-examination  leads  to  self-condemna- 
tion. Men  are  cowardly  in  relation  to  their  own 
inner  life.  They  are  unwilling  to  sit  alone  with 
their  own  hearts,  communing  with  themselves  and 
with  God.  Their  unwillingness  in  this  respect  is 
an  evidence  of  their  guiltiness.  It  is  humiliating 
to  be  obliged  to  make  this  acknowledgment ;  but 
its  truth  no  intelligent  man  can  doubt. 

When  thought  is  properly  exercised  on  religious 
things  there  is  hope  of  a  man's  future.  It  is 
better  that  men  should  violently  oppose  the  gospel 
than  that  they  should  listen  indifferently  when  it 
is  proclaimed.  Vigorous  resistance  in  such  cases 
is  more  encouraging  than  apathetic  hearing.  Na- 
poleon encountered  a  mud  fort  in  Egypt,  and  he 
was  powerless  in  its  presence.  Had  it  been  made 
of  wood,  he  could  have  fired  it ;  had  it  been  made 
of  stone,  he  could  have  shivered  it.  But  it  was 
made  of  mud,  and  the  greater  the  number  of  mis- 
siles which  he  fired  into  it  the  more  did  he  in- 
crease its  powers  of  resistance.  Stolid  apathy  on 
the  part  of  unconverted  men  gives  less  hope  to 
Christian  workers  than  vigorous  antipathy.  The 
opiates  of  indifference  are  more  deadly  than  the 
stimulants  of  skepticism.  When  the  psalmist 
truly  thought  on  his  ways  he  made  haste  and  de- 
layed not  to  keep  God's  commandments.  When 
the  prodigal  son  "came  to  himself"  he  soon  said, 
"  I  will  arise  and  go  to  my  father."  Previous  to 
that  time  he  had  not  been  truly  himself.      He  was 

s 


2/4  THE    PRACTICAL   THINKER 


like  a  man  in  a  dream  ;  he  was  like  a  man  who  had 
been  stunned,  like  a  man  who  was  paralyzed,  like 
a  man  who  was  hypnotized.  There  was  hope  for 
him  the  moment  he  fully  realized  his  wretched 
condition.  The  moment  that  one  comes  to  his  true 
self  he  comes  to  God  ;  and  when  he  comes  to  God 
he  also  finds  a  still  higher  self  of  which  previously 
he  had  been  ignorant.  When  the  fascinating  spell 
of  sin  is  broken,  we  may  expect  to  see  the  liberated 
soul  turn  to  God. 

2.  We  7iotice  the  subject  of  thought  on  the  part 
of  the  psalmist — "on  my  zvaj/s."  This  certainly 
was  a  very  personal  subject  of  thought.  It  is  easy 
enough  to  think  upon  the  ways  of  other  men,  but 
extremely  difficult  to  think  on  our  own  ways  when 
they  are  evil  ways.  Love  of  evil  blinds  us  to  the 
nature  of  evil  ;  love  of  evil  warps  our  judgment 
and  thus  vitiates  its  decisions.  There  is  no  diffi- 
culty in  finding  many  men  who  are  greatly  con- 
cerned regarding  the  doubtful  ways  of  other 
people.  They  earnestly  inquire,  "  what  shall 
others  do  ?  "  They  are  able  to  give  instruction  to 
others,  but  are  unwilling  to  apply  the  same  in- 
struction to  their  own  sinful  courses.  It  is  humil- 
iating that  we  are  so  often  ready  to  see  the  mote  in 
our  brother's  eye  when  we  are  utterly  ignorant  of 
the  beam  in  our  own  eye.  We  can  readily  set  up 
a  standard  of  conduct  for  other  church-members 
to  which  we  are  utterly  unwilling  to  conform  our 
own  lives.  The  Apostle  Peter  was  greatly  con- 
cerned regarding  the  future  of  the  Apostle  John. 


THE  PRACTICAL  THINKER  2/5 

We  need  not  charge  Peter  with  mere  curiosity 
when  in  regard  to  John  he  asked  the  question, 
"  Lord,  and  what  shall  this  man  do  ?  "  ,  Christ  had 
just  predicted  the  sort  of  death  which  Peter  should 
undergo  ;  and  now  Peter  becomes  extremely  curi- 
ous as  to  the  manner  in  which  John  should  die. 
We  may  well  believe  that  his  question  arose  from 
motives  of  true  friendship,  rather  than  was 
prompted  by  mere  curiosity  or  by  unfraternal 
jealousy.  Nevertheless  the  answer  of  Christ  was, 
"What  is  that  to  thee;  follow  thou  me."  The 
rebuke  implied  in  our  Lord's  answer  we  ought  all 
to  feel  when  we  neglect  our  own  duty  because  of 
inquiries  regarding  the  duties  of  other  men.  It  is 
so  easy  to  condemn  in  our  brother  what  we  con- 
done in  ourselves. 

It  is  to  be  observed  also  that  our  ways  is  a  very 
broad  subject  of  thought.  It  touches  our  life  at 
many  points  ;  our  "ways  "  in  this  sense  would  in- 
clude our  entire  life.  What  subjects  of  thought 
we  have  in  our  ways  of  neglect  of  divine  duties  ! 
We  must  with  shame  often  reflect  on  our  ways  of 
open,  willful,  and  continuous  transgression.  We 
have  sinned  against  light  and  opportunity.  We 
have  disobeyed  God  when  his  will  was  clearly  re- 
vealed and  our  duty  was  strongly  emphasized. 
We  have  broken  our  own  most  solemn  promises 
to  God  and  our  frequent  pledges  to  ourselves.  We 
have  earnestly  determined  to  abandon  certain 
courses  of  conduct,  and  yet  we  have  found  our- 
selves   returning    to    them,    notwithstanding    our 


276  THE    PRACTICAL    THINKER 

promises  and  our  prayers.  The  language  of  the 
Apostle  Paul,  "  O  wretched  man  that  I  am  !  who 
shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  ? " 
has  often  been  the  most  appropriate  vehicle  of 
our  emotions.  Reflection  on  our  "ways"  in  all 
these  respects  may  well  bring  the  blush  of  shame 
to  our  cheeks.  It  would  be  easy  to  speak  with 
severity  of  others  were  it  not  that  conscience 
rebukes  us  for  similar  forms  of  disobedience.  We 
ought  also  to  think  of  our  "  ways  "  in  their  rela- 
tion to  God's  mercy.  How  long-suffering  God  has 
been  toward  us  !  How  patient  in  the  midst  of 
our  neglect  of  him  and  our  open  violation  of  his 
commands  !  The  memory  of  his  goodness  ought 
to  lead  us  to  deep  repentance.  Let  us  return 
again  unto  God  from  our  numerous  wanderings. 

Reflection  on  our  ways  is  also  a  very  humiliating 
subject  of  thought.  The  psalmist  turned  his 
ways  upside  down  when  they  became  the  subject 
of  earnest  reflection,  because  previous  to  that 
time  they  had  been  wrong  side  up.  The  word 
implies  that  he  deeply  pondered  them,  that  he 
viewed  his  conduct  on  all  its  sides  ;  and  that  he 
dwelt  upon  the  course  he  had  pursued  with  fixed, 
abiding,  and  penetrating  thought.  Some  suppose 
that  there  is  a  reference  here  to  the  work  of  em- 
broidering, where  the  figure  must  appear  the  same 
on  both  sides.  The  work  must  be  very  exact, 
every  flaw  must  be  covered  or  removed,  and  in 
order  that  the  work  may  be  carefully  done,  the 
cloth  must  be  turned  on  each  side  as  often  as  the 


THE    PRACTICAL   THINKER  2'J'J 

needle  is  used.  With  equal  closeness  and  careful- 
ness did  the  psalmist  examine  his  conduct.  He 
footed  up  his  accounts  as  the  arithmetician  foots 
up  columns  of  figures.  Most  instructive  is  the 
language  here  employed  as  to  the  carefulness  of 
thought  which  is  here  suggested.  Would  to  God 
that  we  could  exercise  equal  diligence  regarding 
the  tendency  of  our  acts  and  the  trend  of  our 
thoughts  in  their  relations  to  God ! 

3.  Let  us  notice  the  result  of  the  psalmist's 
thought — "  and  turned  my  feet  unto  thy  testitnonies." 
After  the  discovery  which  he  made  he  found 
himself  the  proper  subject  of  God's  displeasure. 
He  then  abandoned  his  evil  ways,  took  God's  word 
for  his  guide,  and  started  out  in  the  way  of  salva- 
tion. This  was  a  personal  turning — the  psalmist 
turned  ;  it  was  not  God  who  turned.  God  did  not 
need  to  turn  or  in  any  way  to  change  his  course. 
The  psalmist  employed  his  own  will  and  exercised 
his  personal  freedom  in  the  choice  he  made,  and  in 
the  new  course  he  pursued.  He  did  not  wait  for 
God  to  turn  him,  but  he  himself  paused,  reflected, 
and  turned  from  evil  and  so  returned  unto  God. 
A  similar  course  of  thinking  and  acting  is  required 
to-day,  when  a  sinner  reflects  on  his  ways  and  re- 
turns unto  his  God.  He  must  actually  turn  from 
sin  ;  there  must  be  a  genuine  and  personal  return- 
ing unto  God.  There  must  be  obedience  to  the 
divine  command  uttered  by  Isaiah,  "  Let  the 
wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the  unrighteous  man 
his  thoughts  ;  and  let  him  return  unto  the  Lord, 


2/8  THE    PRACTICAL   THINKER 

and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him  ;  and  to  our  God, 
for  he  will  abundantly  pardon."  To  get  out  of 
self  is  to  get  into  God.  To  act  without  due 
thought  is  foolishness ;  but  to  think  without  right 
action  is  sinfulness.  This  turning  is  indeed  by 
God's  loving  help,  for  without  him  we  can  do  noth- 
ing. But  let  it  never  be  forgotten  that  it  is  man 
who  turns,  man  who  repents,  man  who  changes, 
and  man  who  returns  unto  God  whom  he  had  long 
neglected. 

It  is  observable,  also,  that  this  is  a  practical 
turning.  We  are  told  that  the  psalmist  turned  his 
feet  unto  God's  testimonies.  He  was  not  satisfied 
with  turning  his  hands  ;  the  hand  can  be  turned 
when  the  body  is  not  moved.  He  was  not  satis- 
fied with  turning  the  eye  ;  the  eye  may  be  turned 
when  even  the  head  is  but  little  moved.  He  turned 
his  heart  toward  God  and  then  his  feet  moved  in 
obedience  to  the  will  of  God.  The  desire  of  his 
soul  was  toward  God's  testimonies,  and  then  his 
outward  action  corresponded  with  his  inward  de- 
cision. To  turn  the  feet  is  to  return  the  whole 
body.  Strictly  speaking,  there  is  a  difference  be- 
tween conversion  and  regeneration.  Regeneration 
is  the  inward  experience ;  conversion  is  the  out- 
ward expression.  Regeneration  is  the  act  of 
God's  Spirit  working  through  the  truth  on  the 
heart ;  conversion  is  the  obedience  of  that  heart 
to  the  will  of  God  as  made  known  by  the  word 
and  Spirit  of  God.  We  are,  while  enemies  to 
God,  walking  with  our  backs  toward  him  and  our 


THE    PRACTICAL   THINKER  279 

faces  toward  evil ;  when  we  listen  aright  to  the 
divine  voice  we  "  right  about  face,"  turning  our 
backs  to  sin  and  our  faces  toward  truth,  purity, 
God,  and  heaven.  Conversion  is  a  most  practical 
act  in  our  entire  being.  When  it  really  takes 
place  it  cannot  be  misunderstood  by  any  intelligent 
observer.  May  God  help  all  to-day  who  have  not 
yet  turned  toward  God,  to  "  right  about  face  "  at 
this  moment,  to  reverse  the  course  of  their  lives, 
and  to  walk  in  the  narrow  path  which  leads  to 
everlasting  life ! 

This  was  also  a  prompt  as  well  as  a  personal  and 
a  practical  turning ;  for  the  psalmist  made  haste 
and  delayed  not  to  turn  his  feet  unto  God's  testi- 
monies. All  true  reformation  implies  regeneration. 
Regeneration  reveals  itself  in  conversion.  Doubt- 
less the  psalmist  had  often  hesitated,  previous  to 
the  conversion  described  in  the  text  and  context ; 
but  now  there  was  no  delay.  He  offered  no 
excuse.  Procrastination  is  not  only  the  thief  of 
time,  but  the  murderer  of  souls.  He  did  not 
defer  duty  till  "a.  more  convenient  season." 
Neither  ought  we.  I  never  will  urge  unconverted 
men  and  women  to  go  home,  to  read  the  Bible, 
and  to  pray ;  they  may  not  live  to  reach  their 
homes.  Now  is  the  day  of  salvation  ;  now  is  the 
accepted  time.  Instant  and  unconditional  surren- 
der to  God  is  the  duty  and  privilege  of  every  un- 
converted man  and  woman.  I  dare  not  compro- 
mise with  you  at  this  point.  If  all  convicted  sin- 
ners immediately  turned  to  God  with  their  whole 


28o  THE    PRACTICAL   THINKER 

hearts,  they  would  be  immediately  converted. 
The  trouble  with  men  is  that  they  delay,  that  they 
will  not  break  away  from  their  sins,  that  they 
excuse  themselves  for  their  evil  courses  and  thus 
refuse  to  seek  God.  Like  Felix,  they  are  asking 
for  a  more  "convenient  season."  Conversion  ought 
to  begin  in  serious  consideration,  and  such  consid- 
eration we  may  hope  will  end  in  true  conversion. 
Most  suggestive  are  the  words  of  the  sixtieth 
verse.  The  original  which  is  translated  "  delayed 
not "  is  more  emphatic  than  can  well  be  expressed 
in  English  speech.  The  psalmist  really  says,  I 
did  not  stand  "what,  what,  whatting."  The 
thought  is  often  expressed  by  us  when  we  say  that 
we  were  not  guilty  of  "  shilly  shallying."  Would 
to  God  that  all  who  hear  me  this  day  would  so  act 
that  the  language,  descriptive  of  the  psalmist's 
course,  could  be  truthfully  applied  to  their  con- 
duct !  Behold  the  Father  whom  you  have  so 
long  despised  and  disobeyed !  He  stands  waiting, 
O  prodigal,  to  welcome  thee  home.  He  has  come 
out  to  meet  thee.  He  is  ready  to  fall  upon  thy 
neck  with  the  kiss  of  love  and  the  words  of  for- 
giveness. I  beseech  you  all  to  come  home  to- 
day. Think  on  your  ways  ;  turn  your  feet  unto 
God's  testimonies  ;  make  haste  and  delay  not  to 
keep  his  commandments  ;  and  as  God  lives,  his 
peace  shall  come  into  your  heart,  his  joy  into  your 
life,  and  the  assurance  of  acceptance  with  him 
now  and  of  dwelling  forever  with  him  hereafter, 
will  be  your  sweet  experience. 


THE  EMPTY  TOMB 


Come,  see  the  place  where  the  Lord  lay.  — Matt.  28  :  6. 


XVIII 

ONCE  more  we  greet  with  garland,  song,  and 
prayer,  our  risen,  victorious,  and  ever-blessed 
Redeemer.  We  prostrate  ourselves  at  his  feet, 
while  his  "All  hail"  salutes  our  ear.  Every  Sun- 
day is  the  Lord's  Day,  and  commemorates  his  res- 
urrection ;  but  it  is  fitting  that  once  a  year  we 
should  earnestly  and  tenderly  emphasize  this  glo- 
rious fact. 

The  significance  of  Easter  it  is  difficult  to  over- 
estimate. It  is  the  Christian  Passover,  and  the 
greatest  of  all  the  holy  days  of  the  Christian 
church. 

It  was  long  believed  that  Christ  would  on  Easter 
morning  come  again  in  power  and  in  great  glory. 
In  the  Russian  Church,  after  impressive  ceremo- 
nies during  the  night,  the  day  begins  with  the 
jubilant  salutation,  "The  Lord  is  risen"  ;  and  the 
joyous  response  is  made,  "  He  is  risen  indeed." 
To-day  angels  might  well  sing  anew  their  songs  of 
praise  to  their  Lord  and  our  Redeemer  ;  to-day  the 
First  Begotten  from  the  dead  comes  forth  from  the 
conflict  crowned  with  victory  ;  to-day  hell  and  the 
grave  are  defeated  ;  to-day  the  kingdom  of  dark- 
ness is  spoiled  ;  to-day  the  Son  of  Man  is  declared 
with  power  to  be  the  Son  of  God  ;  to-day  the  church 
wears  the  robes  and  crown  of  royalty  and  glory. 

283 


284  THE    EMPTY    TOMB 

All  hail  the  day  when  our  divine  King  marches 
forth  bearing  in  his  girdle  the  keys  of  death  and 
hell,  and  wearing  on  his  brow  the  crown  of  tran- 
scendent victory  !  This  morning  I  shall  ask  you  to 
visit  the  empty  tomb  of  our  Lord  and  Redeemer. 
We  shall  find  there  much  of  interest  and  instruc- 
tion, and  much  to  suggest  thoughts  of  gratitude  and 
love,  thoughts  of  certain  triumph  and  of  blessed 
victory. 

It  will  be  profitable  for  us  to  meditate  for  a  lit- 
tle on  the  invitation  given  in  this  passage.  It  is 
interesting  to  observe  at  the  outset  that  it  is  the 
invitation  of  an  angel.  The  angels  were  our  Lord's 
devout  worshipers  before  he  left  the  bosom  of  the 
Father  and  the  courts  of  heaven  to  become  the 
Saviour  of  men.  Angels  followed  him  on  his 
downward  journey  from  the  throne  of  God  to  the 
manger  in  Bethlehem.  They  made,  in  solo  and  in 
chorus,  celestial  music  on  the  night  when  the 
Christ  was  born.  Doubtless  they  were  often  with 
him  during  his  earthly  sojourn.  We  may  well 
believe  that  they  honored  the  scene  of  his  baptism 
by  their  seraphic  presence.  We  know  that  they 
ministered  unto  him  amid  the  trials,  the  humilia- 
tions, and  the  agonies  of  Gethsemane ;  and  now 
we  find  them  keeping  watch  at  his  grave.  One 
was  at  the  head  and  the  other  at  the  foot  of  the 
place  where  the  Lord  had  lain.  An  angel  rolled 
back  the  stone  from  the  door  and  sat  upon  it ; 
an  angel  whose  countenance  was  like  lightning, 
and  whose  raiment  was  white  as  snow.      No  won- 


THE    EMPTY    TOMB  285 

der  that  at  that  great  sight  the  keepers  did  shake, 
and  became  as  dead  men  ;  but  when  the  devout 
and  loving  women  approached,  the  angels  had  for 
them  messages  of  tender  encouragement  and  of 
earnest  hope.  The  angels  knew  well  whom  these 
women  sought.  They,  therefore,  invited  them  to 
come  that  they  may  see  the  place  where  the  Lord 
lay.  Later,  angels  commanded  them  to  go  and 
tell  his  disciples  that  he  had  risen  from  the  dead. 
Angels  felt  honored  in  being  the  servants  of  their 
Lord  and  the  servants  of  his  people.  He  is  their 
king  as  he  is  ours.  Perhaps  he  is  not  their  Saviour 
as  he  is  ours  ;  but  nevertheless  they  owned  his 
authority  and  gave  him  the  reverence  which  is  his 
due.  We  might  well  imagine  the  conversation 
which  was  held  by  these  angels  as  they  spoke  to 
each  other  while  watching  by  his  grave.  They  re- 
joiced in  honoring  the  spot  which  was  honored  by 
their  Lord  and  Master,  while  he  lay  in  the  power 
of  death  and  the  grave.  We  may  well  listen  to 
this  angelic  invitation  and  go  under  this  heavenly 
guidance  to  the  place  where  our  Lord  lay. 

It  is  also  the  tomb  of  the  greatest  visitant  which 
earth  or  hades  ever  knew.  Christ  was  the  King  of 
men  as  he  is  the  Lord  of  heaven.  His  tomb  is 
the  shrine  of  the  loftiest  genius  as  truly  as  the  altar 
of  the  tenderest  love.  Men  visit  with  softened 
tread  the  tombs  of  earth's  heroes,  whether  it  be 
the  tomb  of  a  Napoleon,  a  Lincoln,  or  a  Grant  ;  but 
never  was  there  a  tomb  so  conspicuously  that  of 
gentleness  and  greatness,  of  loftiness  and  lowliness. 


286  THE    EMPTY   TOMB 

of  divinity  and  humanity,  as  is  the  tomb  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Tell  us  not  of  Palestine's  tombs  of  the 
kings,  not  of  India's  glorious  Taj,  not  of  Italy's 
Campo  Santo,  not  of  Russia's  tombs  of  the  Czars, 
not  of  France's  Pere  la  Chaise,  not  of  Scotland's 
Necropolis  nor  of  her  Greyfriars'  churchyard,  not 
of  England's  Frogmore  and  Westminster  Abbey, 
Joseph's  tomb  is  the  tomb  of  humanity  and  the 
tomb  of  divinity.  It  is  the  unique  tomb  of  the 
world. 

The  world  is  now  beginning  to  recognize  Christ 
as  its  profoundest  thinker,  its  wisest  leader,  and 
its  divinest  sufferer.  He  is  ruling  the  thoughts  of 
men  to-day  with  a  kingly  sceptre  and  with  an  ir- 
resistible power.  The  world  will  never  go  beyond 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  either  for  breadth  of 
thought,  clearness  of  vision,  tenderness  of  state- 
ment, or  divineness  of  spirit.  Christ  rules  to-day 
as  king  on  the  throne  because  once  he  died  as  a 
sacrifice  on  the  cross.  This  is  the  tomb  of  the 
world's  greatest  man.  Compared  with  him  all 
other  great  men  shrink  into  insignificance,  and  the 
lustre  of  their  genius  is  lost  in  darkness.  Why 
will  men  worship  heroes,  and  refuse  to  give  the 
homage  of  their  hearts  to  Jesus  Christ .''  Why  will 
men  glorify  the  destroyers  of  life,  and  refuse  to 
give  their  love  to  him  who  came  not  to  destroy, 
but  to  save  }  Why  will  they  glorify  weak  and  sin- 
ful men,  and  refuse  to  give  glory  to  him  whose 
perfection  as  man  is  without  spot,  and  whose  di- 
vinity is  clearly  proved  by  his  perfect  humanity .-' 


THE    EMPTY    TOMB  28/ 

This  is  a  sweet  and  blessed  spot.  We  cannot 
accept  this  invitation  literally  to-day,  because  the 
hand  of  time,  the  hand  of  the  infidel,  and  the  hand  of 
the  vandal  has  so  obscured  the  place  that  we  can- 
not be  sure  of  its  location.  Little  did  the  angels 
who  first  gave  that  invitation  know  that  it  would 
sound  through  the  ages  to  come,  and  would  finally 
reach  our  ears  in  this  far-off  country  and  in  this 
distant  century.  The  invitation  is  sweet  to  our 
ears,  notwithstanding  the  uncertainties  regarding 
the  locality  and  the  changes  in  its  characteristics. 
Never  was  grave  so  charmful  as  that  of  the  Son 
of  God.  He  has  perfumed  it  by  his  presence. 
Sweeter  breath  than  that  borne  upon  the  gales  of 
Ceylon  salutes  us  as  we  are  conscious  of  the  holy 
fragrance  of  that  blessed  tomb.  Our  divine  Lord 
never  saw  corruption.  Sweet  and  blessed  is  this 
tomb.  Voiceful  is  it  in  its  silence,  and  eloquent 
in  its  emptiness,  as  with  the  loving  women  we 
draw  near  to  it  this  morning  in  obedience  to  the 
invitation  of  the  angels. 

Standing  beside  this  empty  tomb  there  is  much 
of  interest  that  we  may  observe.  The  now  sainted 
Spurgeon,  in  one  of  his  earlier  sermons,  called  at- 
tention to  the  fact  that  it  is  a  costly  tomb.  He 
was  quite  right  in  emphasizing  this  fact.  No  com- 
mon grave  was  that  of  our  divine  Lord.  His  was 
not  the  grave  of  a  pauper  ;  he  was  buried  in  no 
potter's  field  ;  his  was  truly  the  tomb  of  a  king. 
The  prophecy  was  made  seven  hundred  years  be- 
fore  that  he   should   make    "  his  grave  with    the 


288  THE    EMPTY    TOMB 

wicked.,  and  with  the  rich  in  his  death."  Nothing 
apparently  could  be  more  unlikely  of  fulfillment 
than  this  ancient  prophecy ;  but  it  was  fulfilled  to 
the  very  letter.  A  princely  tomb  was  the  tomb  of 
the  Prince  of  Life.  This  fact  is  the  more  wonder- 
ful when  we  remember  that  in  life  he  had  not 
where  to  lay  his  head.  No  sumptuous  palace  was 
his,  no  crown  of  gold,  no  sandals  of  silver  were  his. 
Why  does  he  not  fill  a  pauper's  grave }  Why 
should  he  be  with  the  rich  in  his  death  ?  Why 
should  many  difficulties  in  the  fulfillment  of  that 
ancient  prophecy  be  overcome  that  our  divine  Lord 
might  sleep  in  a  new  and  costly  tomb  .■'  Is  there 
not  here  a  sweet  suggestion  for  every  true  believer  ? 
If  Jesus  is  to  be  buried,  the  rich  Joseph  of  Ari- 
mathea  and  Nicodemus  of  the  Sanhedrin  shall  as- 
sist in  that  burial.  His  work  of  expiation  is  now 
finished.  No  more  shall  shame,  buffeting,  and 
reproach  be  visited  upon  his  sacred  person.  When 
he  said,  "  It  is  finished,"  his  experience  of  con- 
tempt, contumely,  and  ignominy  from  men  is  ended. 
His  body  will  be  embalmed  with  precious  spicery 
and  robed  in  costly  shroud  for  the  tomb  of  honor, 
and  not  the  tomb  of  disgrace.  Courtly  hands  will 
bear  the  sacred  head,  and  womanly  tenderness  will 
wipe  the  pierced  brow  ;  and  thus  with  love  and 
reverence  will  the  sacred  body  be  laid  in  the  new- 
hewn  sepulchre.  Loving  hearts  will  follow  as 
mourners,  and  the  tomb  of  Joseph  of  Arimathea 
will  become  the  tomb  of  Jesus  the  King. 

We  observe  also  that  this  tomb  is  in  a  o:arden. 


THE    EMPTY    TOMB  289 


This  is  inded  a  striking  circumstance.  Not  in  gar- 
dens do  we  expect  to  find  tombs.  It  is  true  that 
occasionally  the  tombs  of  kings  were  in  gardens, 
but  such  occasions  were  rare  and  were  associated 
with  princely  splendor  and  royal  greatness.  As 
we  look  about  us  we  see  clearly  that  this  is  no  place 
of  graves.  Here  are  no  other  memorials  of  the 
dead  ;  there  is  but  a  single  tomb  and  that  in  a  gar- 
den. There  is  here  a  strange  mingling  of  oppo- 
sites.  Gardens  suggest  life,  growth,  beauty ;  tombs 
suggest  decay,  death,  corruption.  This  mingling 
of  opposites  is  suggestive  of  all  experiences  of  life. 
Every  garden  in  life  has  its  tomb,  whether  it  be  the 
garden  of  the  heart,  of  the  home,  or  of  the  church. 
Every  path  leads  to  some  tomb.  This  fact  is  the 
sad  side  of  earthly  experience  ;  but  there  is  a  bright 
side  as  truly  as  there  is  a  dark  side.  For  while 
there  is  a  tomb  in  every  garden,  there  may  be  a 
garden  around  every  tomb.  That  fact  is  inexpres- 
sibly sweet.  Meet  it  was  that  Christ,  the  Lord  of 
life  and  glory,  should  be  buried  in  a  garden.  Was 
it  not  in  a  garden  that  sin  and  death  were  born  ? 
Ought  it  not  to  be  in  a  garden  that  sin  and  death 
should  die,  and  life  and  love  should  have  a  new 
birth,  to  die  no  more  ?  In  Eden  death  won  his  first 
victory,  and  in  the  garden  near  Calvary,  death  re- 
ceived his  last  stroke  from  the  great  conqueror. 
This  garden  suggests  the  other  garden,  the  para- 
dise of  God,  where  sin  can  never  enter,  where  sor- 
row is  unknown,  and  where  love  lives  on  rejoicing 
in  the  immediate  presence  of  God. 


290  THE    EMPTY    TOMB 

If  we  observe  more  closely  we  shall  see  that  the 
grave  clothes  are  arranged  in  order,  and  the  napkin 
is  laid  in  a  place  by  itself.  These  facts  are  full  of 
suggestion  to  every  thoughtful  mind.  We  see 
clearly  that  this  tomb  was  not  rifled,  that  Christ 
did  not  hastily  arise,  and  that  loving  hands  disposed 
of  the  cerements  of  the  grave,  and  folded  by  itself 
the  napkin  that  was  around  his  thorn-pierced  brow. 
Doubtless  our  Lord  showed  in  this  way  his  appre- 
ciation of  order  and  propriety,  and  thus  taught  les- 
sons of  homely  instruction  while  he  was  proving 
truths  of  highest  and  divinest  importance.  Clumsy 
was  the  story  told  by  the  soldiers  that  his  disciples 
stole  him  away  while  they  slept.  The  condition 
of  the  tomb  was  itself  a  contradiction  to  their  fool- 
ish affirmation.  Glorious  was  the  rising  from  the 
grave,  and  amid  its  majestic  elements  was  regard 
for  the  proprieties  of  life  in  these  humble  details. 
No  human  eye  saw  Christ  rise ;  the  angels  did  not 
say  that  they  saw  him  rise.  Evermore  in  silence 
are  God's  sublimest  deeds  wrought.  Perhaps  when 
the  angel  rolled  away  the  stone  and  sat  upon  it, 
the  divine  Lord  came  forth  without  haste,  without 
confusion,  in  the  calmness  of  conscious  power,  and 
in  the  majesty  of  divine  achievement. 

All  the  surroundings  of  the  tomb  are  full  of 
suggestion.  It  was  cut  in  a  rock,  as  was  fitting 
for  the  temporary  resting-place  of  him  who  is  the 
Rock  of  Ages.  It  was  a  new  tomb,  as  became 
him  of  virgin  mother  born,  and  of  unique  life  as 
well  as    unique    birth.      Had    another    ever    been 


THE    EMPTY   TOMB  29 1 

buried  in  that  tomb  it  might  have  been  claimed, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  man  who  touched  EUsha's 
bones,  that  so  Christ  arose  from  the  dead  ;  but 
none  other  ever  slept  in  that  tomb.  It  was  re- 
served for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  mighty  mon- 
arch of  death's  domain  as  of  earth's  dominion. 
We  may  well  bless  God  for  all  the  circumstances 
of  that  wondrous  burial,  that  costly  tomb,  and  this 
glorious  resurrection.  Joseph  intended  the  tomb 
for  his  own  family  ;  but  it  became  the  tomb  of 
heaven's  king,  and  so  is  immortal  among  the 
tombs  of  earth. 

We  observe  also,  and  chiefly,  that  this  is  now 
an  empty  tomb.  The  angels  invite  the  women  to 
come  that  they  may  behold  the  place  where  the 
Lord  lay,  not  where  the  Lord  lies.  This  is  the 
greatest  and  sublimest  truth  ever  taught  the  chil- 
dren of  men.  The  doctrine  of  our  Lord's  resur- 
rection is  the  foundation  stone  of  the  Christian 
church,  and  that  stone  is  laid  in  the  empty  grave 
of  Jesus  Christ.  Nothing  is  more  certain  than 
that  Jesus  Christ  was  truly  dead.  In  that  rocky 
tomb,  motionless  and  dead,  the  mighty  Redeemer 
lay ;  and  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  this 
dead  Christ  arose  from  the  grave  to  die  no  more. 
As  well  might  we  attempt  to  deny  the  existence  of 
Caesar  or  Napoleon  as  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ  ;  than  that  no  historical  event  is  more  cer- 
tain. He  burst  Caesar's  seal,  and  proved  that  the 
rocky  walls  of  Joseph's  tomb  could  not  imprison 
the  Lord  of  life  and  glory. 


292  THE    EMPTY    TOMB 

The  resurrection  of  Christ  has  changed  the 
Uterature,  the  sculpture,  the  painting,  and  the 
music  of  the  church  and  of  the  world.  It  teaches 
us  great  lessons,  some  of  which  we  do  well  to  em- 
phasize as  we  stand  to-day  beside  this  empty  tomb. 
We  here  receive  conclusive  proofs  of  the  divine 
nature  of  the  Redeemer.  Proofs  enough  he  gave 
during  his  lifetime  that  he  was  truly  the  Son  of 
God  and  the  Saviour  of  men.  But  his  words  were 
misunderstood,  misinterpreted,  and  rejected.  His 
resurrection,  however,  must  convince  all  candid 
inquirers  and  at  least  silence  all  captious  cavilers. 
This  effect  it  seems  to  have  produced  when  the 
apostles  first  went  forth  to  declare  the  mighty  fact. 
Christ  had  himself  rested  all  his  claims  to  be  the 
Son  of  God  upon  the  sublime  fact  of  his  resurrec- 
tion. Had  he  not  been  truly  the  Son  of  God  he 
never  would  have  come  forth  from  the  tomb  of 
Joseph.  When  challenged  to  give  a  proof  of  his 
claims,  he  referred  to  his  own  resurrection  from 
the  dead.  His  resurrection  was,  therefore,  a  ful- 
fillment of  his  own  prophecies,  as  well  as  the 
working  of  the  greatest  of  miracles. 

His  resurrection  is  also  a  proof  that  his  work 
of  atonement  was  accepted  by  God  the  Father. 
It  was  the  Father's  seal  upon  the  atoning  work  of 
the  Son.  Not  on  the  cross,  but  rather  in  the 
tomb,  did  that  work  reach  its  completion.  In  the 
tomb  the  great  battle  was  fully  fought  and  the 
sublime  victory  gloriously  won.  Then  it  was  that 
the  Son  of  David  was  declared  with  power  to  be 


THE    EMPTY    TOMB  293 

the  Son  of  God.  Then  it  was  that  the  foundation 
of  Christ's  reign  among  men  was  laid.  Other 
founders  of  religions  lived  and  died,  but  Christ  is 
the  only  founder  of  a  religion  who  came  forth 
from  the  grave.  His  resurrection  is  the  unique 
fact  in  our  holy  faith ;  it  is  the  divine  proof  of  its 
absolute  certainty.  It  carries  with  it  all  the  facts 
of  his  birth,  his  life,  his  death.  His  resurrection 
has  justly  been  called  "  God's  amen  and  the  halle- 
lujah of  humanity."  It  gives  us  a  striking  proof 
of  his  divinity.  To  this  crowning  miracle  the 
teachers  of  Christianity  constantly  appealed  ;  to 
be  the  witnesses  of  his  resurrection  was  one  of 
the  objects  for  which  the  apostles  were  appointed. 
In  his  great  sermon  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  the 
Apostle  Peter  affirms,  "  This  Jesus  hath  God  raised 
up  whereof  we  all  are  witnesses,"  Paul,  address- 
ine:  the  men  of  Athens,  affirms  that,  "  He  hath 
given  assurance  unto  all  men  in  that  he  hath  raised 
him  from  the  dead."  To  this  same  miracle  the 
teachers  of  Christianity  may  now  refer  as  proof  of 
its  supernatural  claims.  It  is  the  keystone  in  the 
arch  of  our  faith.  If  it  be  true,  all  other  affirma- 
tions of  that  faith  may  be  easily  proved. 

The  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  also  accounts 
for  the  existence  of  the  church.  We  know  that 
the  Christian  faith  has  transformed  the  world  ;  but 
we  cannot  account  for  the  Christian  church,  ex- 
cept we  admit  the  resurrection  of  the  Lord. 
Were  the  first  teachers  of  this  new  faith  deceiv- 
ers .''    Who  dares  so  affirm  .-'    Were  they  deceived  .-' 


294  THE    EMPTY    TOMB 

Who  can  so  believe  ?  Deny  the  resurrection  and 
you  cannot  account  for  the  church.  This  fact 
any  man  may  safely  affirm  in  the  presence  of  any 
student  of  history.  You  may  safely  challenge  any 
man  who  denies  the  resurrection  of  Christ  to 
account  for  the  existence  of  the  church.  No 
sensible  man  will  accept  the  challenge.  Nothing 
is  more  logical  or  sublime  than  the  Apostle  Paul's 
reasoning  in  i  Cor.  15,  when  he  says  that  "if 
Christ  be  not  risen,  then  is  our  preaching  vain, 
and  your  faith  is  also  vain."  But  he  gloriously 
affirms  that  Christ  is  risen,  and  he  exults  in  the 
fact  that  our  faith  is  not  vain. 

One  other  and  more  personal  lesson  we  may 
learn  as  we  stand  beside  this  empty  grave.  Christ's 
resurrection  is  a  prophecy  and  proof  of  our  resurrec- 
tion. He  is  the  only  one  instance  of  a  complete 
victory  over  death  in  his  own  person.  He  met  death 
in  his  own  domain,  and  won  in  that  dark  territory 
his  glorious  victory.  Hitherto  death  was  an  inexor- 
able tyrant,  never  bribed  by  tears  and  never  melted 
by  beauty.  He  struck  his  deadly  blow  and  hu- 
manity fell  before  his  power.  Enoch  and  Elijah 
really  won  no  victory  over  death,  for  they  never 
really  grappled  with  this  foe.  They  were  trans- 
lated without  meeting  him  on  the  field  of  conflict. 
There  is  proof  that  the  ruler's  daughter,  the  wid- 
ow's son,  and  Lazarus,  were  rescued  for  a  time 
from  the  power  of  death  ;  but  death  afterward 
claimed  them  for  his  own.  Christ  alone  of  woman 
born,  ever  grappled  with  the  mighty  wrestler  death. 


THE    EMPTY    TOMB  295 

and  overcame  him  in  his  own  dark  domain.  Death 
never  before  had  such  a  visitant  in  his  silent  realms. 
Jesus  wrenched  the  sceptre  of  empire  from  his 
hand,  and  took  the  crown  of  dominion  from  his 
brow.  Jesus  won  a  full  and  final  victory  leaving 
the  sepulchre  that  morning  to  return  no  more  for- 
ever. Nothing  but  that  empty  tomb  remained  to 
tell  that  once  the  Son  of  God  slept  on  this  rocky 
bed. 

We  thus  have  a  sweetly  personal  interest  in  this 
victory.  Christ  won  it  not  for  himself  alone.  As 
he  died  for  us,  so  he  rose  for  us.  Our  resurrec- 
tion depends  upon  his.  Fast  as  the  grave  seems 
now  to  shut  in  our  beloved,  it  is  doomed  to  relax 
its  grasp.  When  men  say  that  the  scientific  ob- 
jections are  such  that  they  cannot  believe  in  the 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  we  have  simply  to  ask 
them,  Did  Jesus  rise .-'  This  is  a  question  of  fact. 
Is  it  true .''  There  are,  all  admit,  difficulties  in  the 
doctrine  of  our  resurrection.  They  are  inexpli- 
cable ;  but  were  there  not  also  difficulties  in  the 
resurrection  of  Christ .''  The  difficulties  in  the  case 
of  a  general  resurrection  are  not  greater,  from  a 
strictly  scientific  point  of  view,  than  those  in  the 
case  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus.  To  believe  that 
he  died  and  rose  again  is  scientifically  as  difficult 
as  to  believe  that  we  die  and  may  rise  again.  He 
who  denies  that  the  dead  can  rise  must  also  deny 
that  Christ  did  rise.  "But  now  is  Christ  risen." 
Then  we  too  may  arise.  Empty  as  was  Joseph's 
tomb,  so  empty  shall  all  the  tombs  of  the  world  be 


296  THE    EMPTY    TOMB 

when  the  archangel's  trump  shall  sound.  All  hail, 
then,  thou  risen  Jesus  !  Thou  art  he  who  once 
was  dead,  but  who  now  liveth  forevermore.  At 
thy  girdle  are  the  keys  of  death  and  hell.  March 
forward,  thou  mighty  Conqueror,  in  thy  sublime 
victory !  Let  all  the  bells  of  heaven  ring  on  this 
glad  Easter  morning.  With  Christ  we  bear  the 
cross  ;  with  him  we  shall  be  buried  in  the  grave  ; 
with  him  we  shall  rise  in  triumph  ;  and  with  him 
we  shall  sit  on  the  throne  to  die  no  more  but  to 
rejoice  forever  in  the  triumphs  thou  hast  won — 
thou  Christ  of  God,  blessed  forevermore. 


THE  FULFILLED  PENTECOST 


And  when  the  day  of  Pentecost  was  fully  come,  they  were 
all  with  one  accord  in  one  place.  And  suddenly  there  came 
a  sound  from  heaven  as  of  a  rushing  mighty  wind,  and  it 
filled  all  the  house  where  they  were  sitting.  — Acts  2  :  1-4. 


XIX 

WE  to-day  celebrate  with  appropriate  services 
what  is  known  in  some  churches  as  Whit- 
sunday. It  is  well  known  that  this  name  refers  to 
the  white  garments  worn  by  candidates  for  bap- 
tism, or  worn  by  those  who  had  been  recently 
baptized.  It  is  a  festival  of  the  church  in  com- 
memoration of  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost.  Although  not  observed  very 
early  in  the  church,  it  came  to  be  one  of  the  most 
prominent  of  all  the  sacred  feasts.  In  the  early 
church,  in  some  instances,  the  entire  period  from 
Easter  to  Pentecost  was  observed  as  a  joyous  occa- 
sion. It  was  a  time  of  thanksgiving,  because  of 
the  exaltation  of  Christ  to  the  right  hand  of  God. 
In  some  portions  of  the  church  this  period  was 
considered  as  a  continuous  Sunday.  It  was  also 
marked  by  an  absence  of  fasting,  and  of  kneeling 
at  all  the  public  prayers.  It  was  considered  a 
time  of  holy  jubilation. 

We  must  not  allow  ourselves  to  suppose  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  was  not  in  the  world  until  this 
Pentecost.  From  the  very  beginning  of  creation 
the  Spirit  was  active,  both  in  the  creation  of  the 
universe  and  in  the  re-creation  of  men.  But  when 
Pentecost  was  fully  come  the  Spirit  came  with 
greater  fullness  of  life  than  ever  before.      He  has 

299 


300  THE    FULFILLED    PENTECOST 

dwelt  in  the  church  ever  since.  This  is,  in  a 
special  sense,  the  dispensation  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Christ  promised  to  send  another  Comforter,  as  one 
of  his  ascension  gifts.  The  work  of  God  the 
Father  was  especially  marked  previous  to  the  in- 
carnation of  the  Son.  The  work  of  God  the  Son 
continues  now  at  the  right  hand  of  God  since  his 
ascension  and  enthronement,  and  the  work  of  God 
the  Spirit,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  marked  a 
new  era  in  the  divine  manifestation  and  economy. 
There  is  in  the  divine  plan  a  fullness  of  time  for 
the  manifestation  of  each  person  in  the  blessed 
Trinity. 

The  day  of  Pentecost  is  the  beginning  of  the 
second  period  in  the  New  Testament  dispensation. 
We  speak  of  Christmas  as  the  birthday  of  the 
Lord  ;  we  may  speak  of  Pentecost  as  the  birthday 
of  his  church.  As  the  birthday  of  Christ  was  pro- 
claimed by  angelic  voices  chanting  his  praises,  so 
the  birthday  of  the  church  was  proclaimed  by 
human  voices  chanting  his  praises  in  the  various 
tongues  of  earth.  Christmas  marked  the  incarna- 
tion of  the  Son  ;  and  Pentecost  the  incarnation  of 
the  Spirit.  Ever  since  believers  have  been  his 
temple. 

I.  In  the  study  of  this  subject  it  is  well  for  us, 
in  the  first  place,  to  emphasize  the  time  of  the 
Spirit's  coming.  We  have  every  reason  to  believe 
that  the  Spirit  came  on  the  first  day  of  the  week. 
Honor  was  thus  for  the  second  time  done  to  this 
day.      Not  only  did  it  mark  the  resurrection  of  our 


THE    FULFILLED    PENTECOST  3OI 


Lord  but  also  his  enthronement  at  the  right  hand 
of  the  Father.  The  first  day  of  the  week  is 
therefore  a  standing  memorial  of  the  resurrection 
of  Christ  and  of  the  descent  of  the  Spirit.  These 
two  considerations  give  additional  dignity  and  glory 
to  it  as  the  Lord's  Day.  We  have  not  given  the 
day  suf^cient  honor  as  a  memorial  of  the  coming 
of  the  Spirit.  Whitsunday  as  well  as  Easter  Day 
should  stimulate  the  gratitude  and  evoke  the 
praises  of  all  God's  devout  children.  As  the  one 
day  commemorates  Christ's  birth  from  the  tomb, 
so  the  other  commemorates  the  birth  of  the  church, 
and  marks  an  era  in  the  history  of  redemption.  If 
Christian  people  would  observe  the  Lord's  Day 
with  reference  to  these  two  great  truths  the  day 
would  have  increased  dignity,  solemnity,  and  ten- 
derness in  their  thoughts.  Let  us  honor  it  as  the 
time  of  the  birth  of  the  church,  which  next  to  the 
birth  and  resurrection  of  Christ  is  the  greatest 
event  in  the  history  of  our  race. 

The  Spirit  came  also  when  God's  children  were 
met  for  prayer.  This  circumstance  also  is  worthy 
of  an  emphasis  which  it  seldom  receives.  It  is 
true  that  some  have  reckoned  so  as  to  make  this 
Pentecost  fall  on  Saturday,  the  Jewish  Sabbath. 
But  all  the  Christian  traditions  point  to  Sunday  as 
the  day,  and  all  the  Christian  observances  of  the 
day,  as  far  back  as  they  can  be  traced,  lead  to  the 
same  conclusion.  When  we  turn  to  the  fourteenth 
verse  of  the  preceding  chapter,  we  see  that  all  who 
were  named  were  with  one  accord  in  prayer  and 


302  THE    FULFILLED    PENTECOST 

supplication,  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus  being  one 
of  the  number.  On  some  former  occasions  there 
had  been  jealousies  and  envyings  among  the  dis- 
ciples ;  but  these  are  now  entirely  gone.  There  are 
now  no  schisms,  no  opposing  interests,  no  discord- 
ant ambitions.  There  is  here  a  beautiful  picture 
of  earnest  devotion  and  of  united  supplication. 
Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus  has  cast  in  her  lot  with 
the  apostles  and  is  also  a  suppliant  at  the  feet  of 
her  divine  Son  and  Lord.  We  have  here  one  of 
the  finest  examples  of  earnest  prayer  which  the 
word  of  God  anywhere  gives  us.  The  disciples 
had  followed  their  Master  to  the  eastern  declivity 
of  the  mount  of  Olives.  While  the  words  "to  the 
uttermost  part  of  the  earth  "  are  on  his  lips  he  is 
parted  from  them.  They  steadily  watch  him  as 
with  uplifted  hands  he  pronounces  his  blessing,  and 
then  they  see  him  moving  sublimely  upward,  all  the 
laws  of  gravitation  submitting  to  his  higher  au- 
thority. The  everlasting  doors  lift  up  their  heads 
and  the  King  of  glory  triumphantly  enters.  Within 
the  veil  he  receives  the  worship  which  is  his  due, 
and  on  the  earth  his  disciples  lift  up  their  prayers 
and  praises  in  his  name.  This  was  a  wonderful 
experience  even  for  the  disciples.  They  now  un- 
derstand what  he  meant  when  he  said,  "Whatso- 
ever ye  shall  ask  the  Father  in  my  name,  he  will 
give  it  you."  During  the  forty  days  he  spent  upon 
the  earth  he  opened  to  them  the  Scriptures  ;  they 
now  saw  as  never  before  what  his  death  meant, 
and  that  there  was  to  be  no  more  temple  and  no 


THE    FULFILLED    PENTECOST  303 

more  altar.  Perhaps  they  expected  that  the  Spirit 
would  come  almost  immediately  upon  the  Lord's 
departure ;  but  day  after  day  passes  until  a  week 
is  gone.  "  Not  many  days,"  said  the  Master,  and 
so  they  wait  and  pray  and  pray  and  wait. 

Never  had  such  prayers  ascended  from  earth  to 
heaven  as  these.  Eight  days  are  gone  ;  ten  days 
are  gone  !  Is  the  promise  to  be  broken  }  What 
did  Christ  mean  when  he  said,  "  Tarry  ye  in  the 
city  of  Jerusalem,  until  ye  be  endued  with  power 
from  on  high  "  ?  But  God's  children  never  wait 
and  never  pray  in  vain.  The  promise  is  near  the 
fulfillment ;  the  day  of  Pentecost  is  dawning ;  the 
longing  of  their  hearts  will  be  fully  met.  There 
is  some  work  for  them  during  the  interval  of  ten 
days  between  the  ascension  of  Christ  and  the  effu- 
sion of  the  Spirit.  An  apostle  is  to  be  elected  in 
the  room  of  Judas  who  had  fallen.  This  work 
done,  they  continue  to  wait  for  the  Spirit  as  they 
who  wait  for  the  morning.  They  are  sure  of  his 
coming,  but  they  will  not  relax  their  earnest  prayers 
and  will  not  cease  their  continuous  waiting.  Per- 
severing prayer  and  unity  of  purpose  are  divinely 
appointed  means  for  opening  the  heavens.  Through 
the  cloud,  which  shut  out  the  ascending  Lord  from 
the  strained  eyes  of  the  disciples,  the  incense  of 
prayer  may  rise  and  the  dews  of  blessing  may  fall. 
Thus  they  wait  and  thus  they  pray. 

The  chief  note  of  time,  however,  for  the  coming 
of  the  Spirit  is  that  the  day  of  Pentecost  was  fully 
come.     We  know  that  the  word  Pentecost  literally 


304  THE    FULFILLED    PENTECOST 

means  the  fiftieth  of  something ;  but  the  Greek 
adjective  finally  came  to  be  used  as  a  substantive 
and  is  so  used  in  this  connection.  It  was  applied 
to  the  festival  which  occurred  fifty  days  after  the 
Passover.  We  know  that  this  feast  was  also  called 
"the  feast  of  weeks,"  and  " the  feast  of  harvest,  or 
first-fruits."  Nothing  could  be  more  important 
than  that  the  Spirit  should  descend  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  historic  feast.  According  to  the  Jew- 
ish tradition,  as  we  learn  from  Maimonides,  this 
feast  commemorated  the  giving  of  the  law  on 
Mount  Sinai,  which  event  occurred  on  the  fiftieth 
day  after  the  departure  of  Israel  from  Egypt.  It 
was  the  fiftieth  day  after  the  sixteenth  of  Nisan, 
and  was  believed  to  be  the  very  day  on  which  the 
law  was  given  on  Mount  Sinai.  Pentecost  was 
one  of  the  three  yearly  feasts  prescribed  in  the 
Mosaic  law.  The  selection  of  these  three  periods 
was  not  arbitrary,  but  in  strict  harmony  with  na- 
tional events  and  with  the  changing  seasons. 
Nothing  could  be  more  beautiful  than  the  connec- 
tion between  the  descent  of  the  Spirit  and  the  cru- 
cifixion of  Christ  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  relation 
between  the  feast  of  the  Passover  and  the  feast  of 
Pentecost  on  the  other  hand.  Fifty  days  after  the 
paschal  lamb  was  slain  God  came  in  fire  and  flame 
on  Mount  Sinai  inaugurating  a  new  dispensation, 
and  fifty  days  after  the  true  Paschal  Lamb  was 
slain  God  came  again  in  fire  and  flame  and  inaug- 
urated the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  fail  to  see  the  connection  between  these 


THE    FULFILLED    PENTECOST  305 


symbolic  events  of  the  olden  time  and  the  deeply 
spiritual  experiences  of  these  apostolic  days.  At 
the  first  Pentecost  the  law  was  given  on  tables  of 
stone  ;  at  the  last  Pentecost  the  Spirit  came  to 
write  that  law  on  the  hearts  of  the  disciples. 

2.   Let  us  observe,  in  the  second  place,  the  man- 
ner of  the  Spirit's  coming.      It  was  to  be  expected 
that  so  great  an  event  as  the  inauguration  of  a  new 
spiritual  dispensation,  that  so   sublime  an   occur- 
rence as   the   special   manifestation   of    the  third 
person  in  the  Trinity,  should  be  preceded  and  ac- 
companied by  sensible    and    audible    phenomena. 
We   are    not,  therefore,  surprised    to    know    that 
<' suddenly  there  came  a  sound  from  heaven  as  of 
a  rushing  mighty  wind,  and  it  filled  all  the  house 
where  they  were  sitting."     This  was  an  extraordi- 
nary  sound.      It   came   suddenly ;    it    came   from 
heaven.     This  expression  intimates  that  it  was  not 
the  result  of  any  natural  influence  ;  it  may  suggest 
also  the  origin  of  the  sound,  that  it  descended  as 
if  from  God.      It  is  to  be  observed  that  this  was 
not  a  rushing  mighty  mind,  but  simply  that  it  gave 
forth  a  sound  that  could  best  be  represented  by 
this  description.     There  'seems  to  have  been  no 
gale  sweeping  over  the  city,  no  wind  that  violently 
struck  the  sides  of  the  building  or  that  swept  furi- 
ously through  the  street.     The  sound  fell  directly 
downward,   without   cause   or  presence  or   move- 
ment to  explain  its  existence.     It  came  like  mighty 
showers  in  a  dead  calm  and  from  a  cloudless  sky. 
God  was  pleased  to  give  two  witnesses  to  the  de- 


u 


306  THE    FULFILLED    PENTECOST 

scent  of  the  Spirit,  one  appealing  to  the  sense  of 
hearing,  this  strange  sound  ;  the  other  appealing 
to  the  sense  of  sight,  the  tongues  of  flame.  We 
stand  in  awe  of  this  mysterious  sound.  Whence 
came  it  .''  What  means  it  .-*  Is  it  not  the  Lord 
breathing  upon  his  people  .''  Was  not  this  a  super- 
natural sign  of  the  divine  presence  .?  Was  not  this 
invisible  witness  mightily  testifying  to  the  presence 
of  the  Holy  Ghost .''  Was  not  this  sound  emblem- 
atic of  the  mighty  power  of  the  divine  Spirit .-' 
May  we  not  well  imagine  that  the  head  of  each 
disciple  bowed  reverently  as  this  strange  sound 
was  heard  .'*  Who  among  them  could  resist  the 
conviction  that  the  mighty  Spirit  of  the  living  God 
was  breathed  upon  them  in  fullness  of  blessing 
and  in  the  majesty  of  God  himself.? 

We  are  not  surprised  to  learn  that  this  sound 
filled  all  the  place  where  they  were  sitting.  We 
are  to  refer  this  expression  to  the  sound  rather 
than  to  the  wind,  for  it  is  not  even  affirmed  that 
there  was  any  wind  blowing.  Far  more  terrific 
than  a  tempest  was  this  windless  sound.  A  sound 
of  wind  when  no  wind  was  blowing  might  well  fill 
every  soul  with  holy  awe.  We  are  to  believe  that 
they  were  meeting  in  a  private  dwelling  rather 
than  in  any  part  of  the  temple.  This  sound  was 
symbolic  of  the  presence  of  the  all-pervading  Spirit. 
Cyril  of  Jerusalem  has  said,  "  For  as  he  who  sinks 
down  into  the  waters  and  is  baptized  and  is  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides  by  the  waters,  so  also  they 
were  completely  baptized  by  Spirit."      Oh,  mys- 


THE    FULFILLED    PENTECOST  3O7 


terious  and  blessed  baptism  !  Now  the  disciples 
were  receiving  the  divine  enduement  of  power  for 
which  they  were  to  tarry  in  Jerusalem,  Now  they 
will  go  forth  with  irresistible  power  to  declare  the 
story  of  redeeming  love.  Only  as  men  are  endued 
with  power  from  on  high  can  they  so  declare  the 
glorious  gospel  that  Christ  shall  be  honored  and 
souls  shall  be  redeemed. 

The  visible  sign  of  the  Spirit's  presence  was 
"  cloven  tongues  like  as  of  fire."  The  word  trans- 
lated cloven  is  more  correctly  rendered  by  the 
word  "distributed."  Painters  have  represented 
these  tongues  as  divided  into  two  or  more  portions  ; 
the  form  of  the  pope's  cap  was  derived  from  an  in- 
correct interpretation  of  this  passage.  The  tongues 
were  not  themselves  cloven,  but  each  tongue  was 
separated  from  a  mass  of  seeming  flame.  Flames 
naturally  assume  the  form  of  tongues,  and  so  we 
have  the  expression,  common  in  many  literatures, 
"a  lambent  flame."  These  tongues  were  not  of 
fire,  but  were  "  like  as  of  fire "  ;  they  possessed 
the  brightness  without  the  burning  of  fire.  One 
of  the  tongues  sat  on  each  of  those  present.  We 
know  that  fire  has  ever  been  regarded  as  a  striking 
emblem  of  deity.  Thus  God  is  said  to  have  re- 
vealed himself  to  Moses  in  the  bush  which  burned, 
but  was  not  consumed  ;  thus  on  Mount  Sinai  God 
descended  in  the  midst  of  thunder,  lightning,  smoke, 
and  fire,  striking  emblems  of  his  presence  and 
power  ;  thus  startlingly  God  is  described  as  "  Con- 
suming Fire."     We  are  familiar  also  with  the  fact 


308  THE    FULFILLED    PENTECOST 

that  the  most  famous  classic  writers  frequently 
represent  their  deities  by  fire  and  flame  in  various 
forms.  It  was  especially  fitting  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  should  be  so  represented.  The  prediction 
of  John  the  Baptist  was,  "  He  shall  baptize  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire."  The  purity  and 
the  purifying  power  of  the  Spirit  were  thus  strik- 
ingly set  forth. 

We  cannot,  however,  fail  to  observe  the  special 
form  of  this  flame.  It  might  naturally  assume  the 
form  of  a  tongue ;  and  frequently  reference  is 
made  to  "the  tongue  of  fire,"  suggesting  the  thin, 
long,  narrow  point  which  flames  naturally  assume. 
But  in  this  instance  we  are  warranted  in  seeing  a 
degree  of  significance  in  the  tongue-like  form  of 
the  flame.  Not  a  shapeless  flame  is  here  presented 
to  our  view,  not  Abraham's  lamp,  nor  the  coal  of 
Isaiah,  but  a  tongue  comes  before  us.  Over  the 
head  of  each  one  of  that  honored  group  rests  a 
tongue  of  flame.  There  is  a  sense  in  which  the 
tongue  was  to  be  the  symbol  of  the  dispensation 
now  inaugurated.  Any  form  of  fire  would  have 
suggested  the  presence  of  God,  but  its  particular 
form  taught  an  additional  truth.  Well  has  William 
Arthur  said,  "  Christianity  was  to  be  a  tongue  of 
fire."  Not  by  the  printed  page,  mighty  as  it  may 
be  for  good  and  for  God,  but  by  the  living  voice 
of  the  living  preacher  is  the  glorious  gospel  to  be 
proclaimed.  A  tongue  set  on  fire  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  a  power  neither  man  nor  devil  can  resist. 
The    tongue,    when    consecrated    to    God,   is   the 


THE    FULFILLED    PENTECOST  309 


mightiest  and  most  glorious  instrument  for  good 
which  the  world  has  ever  known.  It  is  the  power 
which  has  confounded  enemies,  which  has  confron- 
ted learned  councils,  and  which  has  silenced  oppos- 
ing hosts  of  every  kind  ;  this  is  the  power  which  is 
to-day  girdling  the  world  with  the  blessed  story  of 
redeeming  love.  Oh,  that  the  Lord  God  Almighty 
would  consecrate  to  his  service,  by  the  touch  of 
his  mighty  love,  the  tongue  of  eloquence  in  every 
language  and  country ! 

3.  We  are  also  called  upon,  in  the  third  place,  to 
notice  the  results  of  the  Spirit's  coming  so  far  as 
set  forth  in  the  text.  Those  who  were  present — 
and  the  number  is  certainly  not  limited  to  the 
apostles,  nor  perhaps  to  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty — "were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost." 
Up  to  this  time  the  Spirit  had  come  to  men  in 
smaller  measures,  had  come  simply  as  foretastes 
of  this  larger  blessing.  Now  the  children  of  God 
were  entirely  under  the  influence  and  power  of 
the  Spirit  of  God.  To  be  filled  with  anything  is 
a  scriptural  phrase  implying  that  all  the  faculties 
are  pervaded  by  it  or  under  its  control.  Our  at- 
tention was  previously  called  to  the  external  evi- 
dences of  the  divine  presence,  but  now  to  the  in- 
ternal. The  Spirit  was  now  present  in  fullness. 
He  pervaded  the  whole  being  of  those  upon  whom 
he  came.  He  imparted  to  them  extraordinary 
powers  of  many  kinds.  Under  the  old  dispensa- 
tion he  was  given  only  to  chosen  leaders,  or  to 
skilled  workmen,  or  to  such  honored  servants  as 


3IO  THE    FULFILLED    PENTECOST 

Elisabeth,  Zacharias,  and  John  the  Baptist.  There 
were  special  and  transient  occasions  on  which  we 
hear  of  persons  being  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Now  he  is  to  be  the  permanent  indweller  in  God's 
people.  His  abiding  presence  is  their  joyful  privi- 
lege. Previous  to  this  the  apostles  had  enjoyed 
only  the  ordinary  influence  of  the  Spirit,  but  now 
his  indwelling  in  the  largest  measure.  Now  God's 
Spirit  is  put  into  all  his  people.  In  the  early  day 
the  Spirit  of  God  strove  with  men  both  before 
and  after  the  flood  ;  but  it  was  only  when  the  Son 
of  God  came  to  earth  that  the  Spirit  of  God  re- 
turned to  earth  in  fullness.  In  the  second  Adam 
he  dwelt  without  measure,  and  now  he  sends  down 
the  Spirit  to  dwell  in  this  larger  form  with  the  dis- 
ciples whom  he  left  upon  the  earth.  As  vessels 
they  were  long  prepared  for  this  infilling,  and  when 
the  Spirit  came  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  these  pre- 
pared vessels  were  filled  to  overflowing. 

We  read  also  that  they  "  began  to  speak  with 
other  tongues."  How  can  we  explain  so  wonder- 
ful an  event  .-^  There  have  been  many  attempts 
made  to  deny  or  to  modify  this  miracle.  Some 
have  said  that  the  miracle  was  not  in  the  speaking 
of  the  apostles,  but  in  the  hearing  of  the  people  ; 
but  this  cannot  be,  as  the  use  of  the  tongues  was 
manifested  before  the  hearers  were  met  together. 
Nothing  can  be  more  certain  from  what  follows 
than  that  these  disciples  actually  spoke  with  other 
tongues.  We  know  that  they  did  not  merely  speak 
in  different  dialects  of  the  Greek  language,  for  the 


THE    FULFILLED    PENTECOST  31I 

people  were  met  from  many  lands  and  were  of 
many  tongues.  We  here  see  that  the  disaster  of 
Babel  was  more  than  remedied  by  the  blessings 
of  Pentecost.  Sin  separated  man  from  God  and 
man  from  man.  Salvation  comes  to  unite  men  to 
one  another  and  all  men  to  God.  Pentecost  is  the 
divine  remedy  for  Babel.  The  native  tongue  of 
many  of  the  people  was  the  barbarous  dialect  of 
Galilee.  Some  indeed  were  acquainted  with  Greek 
and  Latin  ;  but  there  is  no  reason  to  think  that 
any  were  acquainted  with  the  divers  languages 
represented  on  this  occasion.  The  natural  mean- 
ing of  the  passage  is  that  these  disciples  were 
endued  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  speak 
foreign  languages.  This  ability  was  predicted  in 
the  Old  Testament;  it  was  also  promised  by  the 
Lord  Jesus  when  he  commissioned  his  disciples. 
It  was  vastly  important  on  this  occasion  that  the 
gospel  should  be  proclaimed  in  the  languages  of 
those  present  at  this  feast.  We  do  not,  however, 
suppose  that  the  disciples  used  this  miraculous 
gift  in  their  ordinary  work.  The  Greek  tongue 
was  so  general  throughout  the  Roman  Empire  that 
they  could  ordinarily  use  it  in  their  preaching  ;  but 
the  ability  to  speak  in  various  languages  ministered 
marvelously  to  the  rapid  spread  of  the  gospel  at 
the  Pentecostal  feast.  The  ability  to  speak  in 
these  varied  tongues  on  this  occasion  carried  the 
gospel  to  more  people  than  could  have  been 
reached  by  the  ordinary  ministrations  of  the  word 
for  a  series  of  years.      Pentecost  was  a  great  hill- 


312  THE    FULFILLED    PENTECOST 

top,  and  kindling  the  light  thereon  it  shone  out 
across  many  lands  and  for  the  illumination  of 
many  peoples.  It  is  glorious  that  these  first  dis- 
ciples were  thus  able  to  speak  as  the  Spirit  gave 
them  utterance,  glorious  that  each  man  could  hear 
the  gospel  in  the  language  in  which  he  was  born. 
It  is  still  the  duty  of  the  church  to  give  the  gos- 
pel to  all  peoples,  not  only  in  the  tongues  of  the 
learned,  but  in  the  language  of  daily  speech  and 
of  the  common  people.  Oh,  for  the  pentecostal 
baptism  !  Oh,  for  the  tongue  of  fire !  Oh,  for 
the  conscious  power  of  the  Spirit  as  the  culmina- 
tion of  the  hopes  of  the  past,  and  as  the  prophecy 
of  a  glorious  Pentecost  as  the  nineteenth  century 
closes  and  the  twentieth  century  dawns ! 


THE  BEATIFIC  VISION 


He  shall  dwell  on  high  ;  Ids  place  of  defence  shall  be  the 
niiDiitions  of  rocks;  bread  shall  be  gh'en  him;  his  waters 
shall  be  sure.  Thine  eyes  shall  see  the  King  in  his  beauty  ; 
they  shall  behold  the  land  that  is  very  far  off. — Isa.  jj  :  1 6, 
17- 


XX 

TRUE  believers  need  oftener  to  contemplate 
their  happy  conditions  and  their  bright 
prospects.  They  live  on  too  low  a  plain ;  they 
forget  their  exalted  position  as  heirs  of  God  and 
joint-heirs  with  Jesus  Christ.  They  need  to  be 
reminded  of  the  contrast  between  themselves  and 
"the  sinners  in  Zion,"  even  in  the  world  that  now 
is,  and  especially  so  as  they  contemplate  the  world 
beyond.  In  the  fourteenth  verse  of  this  chapter 
we  are  reminded  that  "  the  sinners  in  Zion  "  are 
afraid,  and  that  the  hypocrites  are  filled  with 
alarm.  This  fear  and  alarm  were  produced  by  a 
view  of  the  judgment  of  God  on  the  army  of 
Sennacherib  when,  in  a  single  night  by  the  blow 
of  the  Almighty,  one  hundred  and  eighty-five 
thousand  men  were  slain.  How  then  could  that 
wrath  be  borne  forever  ?  In  the  fifteenth  verse 
the  prophet  presents  to  us  a  suggestive  contrast 
between  the  confidence  of  the  righteous  and  the 
fearfulness  of  the  wicked.  He  also  gives  us  some 
striking  characteristics  of  the  righteous  man.  He 
lives  righteously ;  he  speaketh  uprightly ;  his  words 
and  acts  are  in  perfect  harmony  with  one  another. 
He  is  not  false,  slanderous,  or  impure  in  speech. 
Another  mark  which  he  bears  is  his  abhorrence  of 
the  gain  of    false  dealing  in  business.      Still  an- 

315 


3l6  THE    BEATIFIC    VISION 

Other  is  that  as  a  magistrate  he  will  not  stretch 
out  his  hands  for  bribes,  but  will  adjudge  all  causes 
according  to  inherent  justice.  Still  another  is 
that  he  will  not  willingly  listen  to  proposals  to 
commit  violence  of  any  sort,  and  will  even  shut 
his  eyes  from  beholding  the  committal  of  violence 
by  others.  In  a  word,  he  keeps  himself  from  all 
iniquity,  lives  a  manly,  honest,  and  godly  life. 

We  then  have  in  the  text  a  statement  of  God's 
regard  for  men  who  live  righteous  lives,  as  those 
lives  are  set  before  us  in  the  fifteenth  verse.  It 
is  a  matter  of  great  interest  to  know  how  God 
regards  such  men.  Is  he  indifferent  to  them  ? 
Does  he  treat  them  otherwise  than  as  he  treats 
"the  sinners  in  Zion".''  Many  Christian  men  and 
women  at  times  feel  that  there  is  no  profit  in  serv- 
ing God.  They  see  the  righteous  in  business 
troubles,  in  family  bereavements,  and  in  physical 
sufferings.  Wicked  men  often  spread  themselves 
as  green  bay  trees  ;  and  it  seems  sometimes,  as  if 
all  that  they  do  prospers.  The  psalmist  was 
carried  away  for  a  time  by  that  thought ;  and  his 
experience  is  that  of  many  conscientious  Chris- 
tians in  our  own  day.  But  the  psalmist  saw  that 
the  time  came  when  the  wicked  passed  away  and 
could  not  be  found.  He  saw  the  transgressors 
destroyed  together,  and  then  he  learned  not  to 
fret  because  of  evil-doers.  He  sweetly  experienced 
also  the  fact  that  those  who  wait  upon  the  Lord 
shall  inherit  the  earth.  This  lesson  is  beautifully 
brought  out  in  our  text  and  its  context. 


THE    BEATIFIC    VISION  317 

I.  In  studying  this  text  we  have,  in  the  first 
place,  the  believer's  position — "  he  shall  dwell  on 
high."  Here  it  is  affirmed  that  the  righteous  man 
shall  dwell  on  heights  which  were  usually  safe 
places,  as  they  were  inaccessible  to  the  enemy. 
A  truly  godly  man  has  his  dwelling  on  a  lofty 
cliff,  and  on  the  immovable  rock.  The  enemy 
cannot  reach  him,  however  bitter  that  enemy  may 
be.  The  true  believer  is  hid  in  the  time  of  trouble 
in  God's  pavilion,  in  the  secret  of  God's  taber- 
nacle. He  is  set  up  on  a  rock  ;  God  takes  him 
into  closest  communion  and  sweetest  fellowship 
with  himself.  God  admits  him  into  his  own  por- 
tion of  the  sacred  dwelling,  as  a  man  would  pro- 
tect his  children  in  his  own  home.  God  will  not 
permit  him  to  remain  in  the  vestibule,  or  the  open 
court,  of  his  palace,  but  will  take  him  into  his 
private  apartments,  where  no  stranger  may  intrude. 
God  covers  his  head  in  the  day  of  battle,  and  his 
heart  in  the  hour  of  fierce  temptation.  True  be- 
lievers literally  occupy  a  high  place.  They  are 
men  of  mark.  They  are  set  on  a  hill  and  cannot 
be  hid.  Ten  thousand  men  read  their  life  for 
every  one  who  reads  the  Bible.  A  true  Christian 
is  God's  best  representative  in  the  world.  The 
world  will  judge  God's  character  by  the  conduct 
and  character  of  God's  children.  The  world 
judges  us  by  our  children ;  not  less,  but  in  har- 
mony with  the  same  law,  does  the  world  judge 
God  by  his  children.  This  truth  places  upon 
Christian  men  and  women  a  solemn  responsibility 


3l8  THE    BEATIFIC    VISION 


and   crowns  them  with   unspeakable   dignity  and 
glory. 

The  believer's  position  is  a  high  one,  when  we 
consider  his  peculiar  blessings.  He  is  in  the 
world,  but  not  of  it ;  he  is  passing  through  it  to 
fairer  and  nobler  worlds  on  high.  He  is  God's 
beloved  among  the  children  of  men.  His  name 
is  written  on  the  palms  of  God's  hands,  so  that 
when  the  hand  is  open  God  sees  the  name,  and 
when  the  hand  is  closed  God  protects  his  child. 
Young  was  right  when  he  said,  "A  Christian  is 
the  highest  style  of  man."  The  Scriptures  repre- 
sent him  as  flourishing  like  the  palm  tree,  as  grow- 
ing like  a  cedar  in  Lebanon,  and  as  fat  and  flour- 
ishing even  in  old  age.  If  Christians  fully  under- 
stood the  glory  which  they  have  in  possession,  and 
the  greater  glory  which  they  have  in  promise,  they 
would  be  unable  to  conceal  their  joy  as  they  walk 
among  men.  Their  faces  would  ever  smile,  their 
eyes  ever  sparkle,  and  the  glory  of  the  celestial 
city  would  flood  their  path  with  its  heavenly  light. 
There  is  a  real  sense  in  which  we  may  say,  with 
becoming  humility,  but  with  literal  truth,  that 
every  Christian  is,  in  his  measure,  Christ  to  the 
world.  He  shows  more  of  the  character  of  God 
than  any  other  being  this  side  the  throne  of  God. 
He  has  to  do  with  the  affairs  of  this  world,  for  he 
is  a  man  among  men  ;  but  he  is  conscious  of  his 
inherent  dignity  and  of  his  inherited  honor.  He 
asks  no  favors  of  men  because  he  is  a  Christian. 
He  does  not  abandon  the  world  because  he  is  a 


THE    BEATIFIC    VISION  319 

Christian  ;  to  abandon  the  world  is  a  coward's  act. 
He  does  not  yield  to  the  world ;  to  yield  to  the 
world  is  a  traitor's  part.  He  overcomes  the  world ; 
to  overcome  the  world  is  a  true  Christian's  part. 
Others  may  be  satisfied  with  the  dross  of  earth, 
but  the  Christian  wants  the  gold  of  heaven ;  others 
may  be  satisfied  to  look  downward,  but  the  Chris- 
tian looks  upward,  onward,  heavenward,  Godward, 
God  is  his  father  and  heaven  is  his  home. 

2.  We  observe,  in  the  second  place,  the  believ- 
er's protection — "  His  place  of  defence  shall  be  the 
munitions  of  rocks."  Literally  translated  we 
should  have  the  expression,  "  the  strongholds  of 
the  rocks  shall  be  his  fortress."  These  are  stir- 
ring words.  The  strongholds  of  the  rocks  were 
often  the  fortress  for  David  and  other  heroic  He- 
brews in  the  time  of  civil  strife  and  foreign  inva- 
sion. "The  clefts  of  the  rocks,  and  the  tops  of 
the  ragged  rocks,"  were  often  the  home  of  brave 
patriots  in  Palestine  and  in  many  other  lands.  In 
the  Highlands  of  Scotland  and  among  the  rugged 
rocks  of  Spain  courageous  defenders  remained  un- 
conquered  and  unconquerable  notwithstanding  the 
fiercest  onsets  of  the  most  formidable  foes.  Rocks 
have  occupied  a  prominent  place  in  the  history  of 
the  church.  Here  brave  Covenanters  found  a 
refuge  when  hunted  by  Claverhouse  and  his  fierce 
dragoons.  Often  the  valleys  of  Scotland  were 
holy  cathedrals,  echoing  the  voices  of  heroes  and 
martyrs  as  they  sang  the  psalms  of  David,  ex- 
horted the  people,  and  prayed  to  God  for  strength 


320  THE    BEATIFIC    VISION 

in  their  hours  of  trial.  The  world  will  never  for- 
get the  men  who  thus  risked  life  and  all  that  made 
life  dear  rather  than  be  disloyal  to  conscience  and 
to  God.  The  church  will  always  be  grateful  that 
God  sometimes  wrapped  the  mists  and  the  clouds 
of  those  rugged  hills  around  his  saints  to  hide  them 
from  their  Satanic  foes.  They  found  it  to  be 
literally  true  that  their  place  of  defense  was  the 
munitions  of  rocks. 

Believers  may  find  it  equally  true  even  to  this 
day.  All  God's  attributes  are  strongholds  for  his 
children.  His  omnipotence,  omnipresence,  benev- 
olence, justice,  and  holiness,  are  places  of  defense 
to  his  penitent,  trustful,  and  obedient  children. 
The  elements  in  God's  character  which  give  alarm 
to  the  sinners  in  Zion  and  to  the  fearful  hypocrites, 
are  sources  of  comfort  to  his  loving  and  loyal  chil- 
dren. We  read  in  Prov.  i8  :  lo,  "The  name  of 
the  Lord  is  a  strong  tower  ;  the  righteous  runneth 
into  it  and  is  safe."  God  is  a  sanctuary  to  the 
righteous  when  they  are  pursued  by  their  foes. 
All  his  titles  and  attributes,  and  all  his  covenants 
and  promises,  constitute  a  tower,  impenetrable,  im- 
pregnable, and  invincible.  All  his  saints  know 
that  their  security  is  in  their  God.  May  God  help 
us  to  find  in  him,  now  and  always,  our  sure  protec- 
tion from  all  our  enemies! 

3.  In  the  third  place,  we  notice  the  believer's 
provision — "  bread  shall  be  given  him,  his  waters 
shall  be  sure."  This  promise  has  been  literally 
fulfilled    in    the    case  of    the    majority    of    God's 


THE    BEATIFIC   VISION  321 


people.  Religion  is  the  friend  of  industry  and 
every  other  virtue.  It  opposes  laziness,  extrava- 
gance, and  every  other  vice.  It  creates  and  fos- 
ters sobriety,  economy,  and  capacity.  Nothing  is 
more  certain  than  that  religion  "  is  not  a  vain 
thing  for  you,  because  it  is  your  life."  Nothing 
is  more  certain  than  that  "  Godliness  is  profitable 
unto  all  things,  having  promise  of  the  life  that  now 
is,  and  of  that  which  is  to  come."  Godliness  is 
profitable  for  the  development  of  the  intellect  and 
for  the  management  of  business  enterprises,  as 
well  as  for  the  culture  of  the  heart  and  the  prep- 
aration for  the  life  to  come.  Except  in  special 
cases — regarding  which  we  think  and  speak  with 
tenderness  and  sympathy — poverty  is  suggestive 
of  indolence,  extravagance,  or  incapacity.  A 
Christian  may  not  fare  sumptuously  every  day ;  he 
may  not  wear  purple  and  fine  linen,  but  the  prom- 
ises of  God  are  that  verily  he  shall  be  fed.  True 
spirituality  is  helpful  in  the  development  of  charac- 
ter and  in  the  conduct  of  affairs  in  every  relation 
in  life.  The  psalmist  was  able  to  say,  after  a  long 
and  varied  experience — an  experience  of  mingled 
disappointment  and  achievement,  sorrow  and  joy — 
"The  steps  of  a  good  man  are  ordered  by  the 
Lord  ;  and  he  delighteth  in  his  way.  I  have  been 
young  and  am  now  old  ;  yet  have  I  not  seen  the 
righteous  forsaken,  nor  his  seed  begging  bread." 

God  is  equally  the  source  of  all  supply  for  our 
spiritual  wants.  He  is  the  fountain  of  all  life  and 
light.     Christ    has    called    himself    the    Bread    of 


322  THE    BEATIFIC    VISION 

Heaven,  and  the  Water  of  Life.  Apart  from  God 
there  is  no  true  source  of  supply  for  the  wants  of 
the  soul.  Men  who  refuse  to  eat  of  this  spiritual 
food  starve  their  souls  in  the  life  that  now  is,  and 
utterly  destroy  them  for  the  life  that  is  to  come. 
It  is  unspeakably  sad  that  they  will  strive  to  feed 
upon  the  husks  which  are  simply  the  food  of 
swine,  and  will  refuse  the  bread  of  heaven  of 
which  angels  eat.  God's  supply  of  temporal  mer- 
cies is  but  the  suggestion  of  our  need  and  his  sup- 
ply of  spiritual  life.  The  new-born  soul  desires 
the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that  it  may  grow 
thereby.  It  afterward  hungers  for  the  bread  of 
heaven,  the  strong  meat  of  faith,  and  the  water 
of  life.  The  soul  can  no  more  live  and  thrive 
without  spiritual  food  than  can  the  body  without 
natural  food.  God  has  promised  to  give  us  our 
spiritual  meat  in  due  season,  as  truly  as  our  daily 
bread.  His  grace  will  be  sufficient  for  us  in  every 
hour  of  need,  however  great  that  need  may  be. 
He  gives  us  his  holy  word  to  be  the  guide  of  our 
lives  and  the  food  of  our  souls.  He  gives  us  the 
communications  of  his  Spirit  that  we  may  under- 
stand the  teachings  of  the  divine  word  and  apply 
them  aright  to  our  spiritual  necessities.  Nothing 
is  more  certain  than  that  he  will  give  us  strength 
according  to  our  day  ;  than  that  he  will  strengthen 
us  with  might  in  the  inner  man  ;  than  that  he  will 
sustain  us  in  our  spiritual  conflicts  and  bring  us  off 
at  the  last  more  than  victorious  over  all  our  spir- 
itual foes. 


THE    BEATIFIC    VISION  323 

4.  We  have,  in  the  last  place,  the  believer's 
prospcction — "thine  eyes  shall  see  the  King  in 
his  beauty ;  they  shall  behold  the  land  that  is 
very  far  off."  I  use  the  word  prospection  rather 
than  prospect ;  the  idea  intended  to  be  taught  in- 
cludes the  outward  view  and  the  inward  apprecia- 
tion of  the  external  prospect.  Some  suppose  that 
the  reference  here  is  to  the  Assyrian  king,  and 
that  he  should  be  seen  at  the  walls  of  Jerusalem — 
that  is  to  say,  that  he  should  be  overthrown. 
Others  believe  that  primarily  the  reference  may  be 
to  Hezekiah.  The  sense  then  would  be  that  the 
people  should  be  defended  from  the  army  of  the 
Assyrian  foe  ;  that  they  should  be  permitted  to 
live  during  the  peaceful  and  prosperous  reign  of 
their  lown  king ;  that  they  should  look  to  the  re- 
motest part  of  the  land  of  Judea  as  delivered 
from  their  enemies  and  under  the  control  of  their 
own  sovereign  ;  that  they  should  not  be  confined 
within  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  but  the  empire  of 
their  king  should  extend  over  a  wide  dominion, 
and  they  should  occupy  as  their  own  the  territory 
now  under  the  control  of  the  Assyrians.  But,  al- 
though the  primary  reference  may  be  to  Hezekiah, 
we  are  warranted  in  saying  that  a  greater  than 
Hezekiah  is  here,  and  that  a  more  goodly  land 
than  the  land  of  Canaan  is  spread  out  to  our  gaze. 
The  true  King  in  his  beauty  is  the  King  of  kings 
and  the  Lord  of  lords  ;  the  true  land  that  is  afar 
off  is  the  land  of  the  heavenly  Canaan  with  its 
unbroken  peace,  its  undimmed  light,  and  its  unin- 


324  THE    BEATIFIC    VISION 

terrupted  joy.  The  believer  is  permitted  at  times 
to  look  out  on  that  goodly  land.  Just  as  the  spies 
brought  back  from  the  land  of  Canaan  the  rich 
clusters  of  Eshcol,  indicative  of  the  abundant 
fruits  which  there  grew,  so  to  us  now  are  brought 
the  fruits  of  paradise  in  precious  promises  and  in 
blessed  realizations.  The  believer  has  much  in 
possession,  but  he  has  vastly  more  in  prospect. 
He  stands  at  times  as  Moses  stood,  and  looks  out 
on  the  magnificent  prospect  whose  glories  blind 
the  gaze,  whose  beauties  intoxicate  the  soul,  and 
whose  blessedness  no  language  can  describe.  But 
unlike  Moses,  he  will  cross  the  river  and  enter  the 
goodly  land.  We  cannot  think  of  the  inhabitants 
of  heaven  as  idling  by  its  purling  streams  and  in 
the  enjoyment  of  its  balmy  airs.  We  think  of 
heaven  as  a  place  of  ceaseless,  but  tireless  activ- 
ity. Shall  not  David  there  strike  his  harp  to 
sweeter  songs  than  he  ever  sang  on  earth  ?  Shall 
not  Isaiah  speak  of  the  glory  and  majesty  of  God 
in  nobler  words  and  loftier  strains  than  marked 
his  divinest  earthly  prophecies }  Shall  not  Paul 
there  glow  with  a  holy  enthusiasm  compared  with 
which  his  highest  earthly  visions  were  cold  and 
dark  .■'  Shall  not  ten  thousand  godly  martyrs, 
preachers,  philosophers,  poets,  scientists,  and  un- 
lettered saints,  there  rise  to  heights  of  achieve- 
ment and  possibility  such  as  no  language  can  now 
express  and  no  thought  now  conceive.  Even  here, 
as  the  Apostle  John  hath  said,  "  Now  are  we  the 
sons  of  God,  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we 


THE    BEATIFIC    VISION  325 

shall  be  ;  but  we  know  that  when  he  shall  appear, 
we  shall  be  like  him,  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is." 
We  could  not  endure  the  sight  of  the  glory  that 
awaits  us  as  the  heirs  of  God.  There  we  shall 
shine  like  stars,  there  we  shall  flash  like  suns, 
there  we  shall  be  like  Christ,  for  we  shall  see  him 
as  he  is.  God  be  thanked  for  the  glimpse  we  now 
get  of  that  city  which  hath  foundations,  whose 
builder  and  maker  is  God — a  city  never  weary 
with  burdens  nor  hoary  with  years  ;  a  city  without 
trials  or  tears  ;  a  city  without  foes  or  fears ;  a  city 
without  sins  or  sorrows  ;  a  city  without  deaths 
or  dirges  ;  a  city  without  griefs  or  graves  ;  a  city 
whose  walls  are  salvation  and  whose  gates  are 
praise.  What  manner  of  men  and  women  ought 
we  to  be  who  are  the  children  of  God  and  heirs 
to  glory  so  unspeakable  .''  Away  with  the  attrac- 
tions of  this  world  !  Away  with  the  fascinations 
of  its  honors,  its  riches,  and  its  glories  !  These 
may  captivate  the  children  of  earth,  but  they  are 
powerless  to  attract  the  children  of  the  King  in 
his  beauty  and  the  heirs  of  the  land  which  is 
"afar  off." 

Are  we  to-day  numbered  among  the  righteous  } 
Do  we  possess  the  characteristics  enumerated  in 
the  verses  preceding  my  text .-'  Have  we  known 
Jesus  Christ  as  our  personal  Lord  and  Saviour .'' 
Have  we  robed  ourselves  in  the  spotless  garments 
of  his  righteousness .-'  Are  our  lives  hid  with 
Christ  in  God .-'  If  we  truly  are  his,  then  where 
he  is  there  we  shall  surely  be,  and  the  glory  of  his 


326  THE    BEATIFIC    VISION 

splendor  shall  be  ours,  world  without  end.  For 
assuredly  his  own  tender,  yearning  prayer  regard- 
ing his  people  shall  be  sweetly  fulfilled  :  "  Father, 
I  will  that  they  also,  whom  thou  hast  given  me,  be 
with  me  where  I  am  ;  that  they  may  behold  my 
glory  which  thou  hast  given  me  ;  for  thou  lovedst 
me  before  the  foundation  of  the  world." 

This  prayer  is  tender  and  beautiful  in  the  ex- 
treme. Our  Lord  clearly  implies  that  his  own 
happiness  would  not  be  complete  until  his  saints 
were  with  him  in  glory.  It  was  foretold  of  him 
that,  "  He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and 
shall  be  satisfied."  The  psalm  regarding  himself, 
says,  "  I  shall  be  satisfied  when  I  awake  in  thy 
likeness."  Christ's  satisfaction  consists  in  part  in 
the  presence  of  his  people ;  and  the  satisfaction 
of  his  people  consists  in  awaking  in  his  likeness. 
Each  is  satisfied  with  the  other  ;  neither  can  be 
satisfied  without  the  other.  As  he  looks  forward 
to  his  glorification  in  heaven,  our  Lord  longs  for 
the  presence  of  those  whom  he  died  to  redeem. 
There  is  wonderful  humanness  as  well  as  divine- 
ness  in  this  prayer ;  indeed  the  divine  and  the 
human  in  the  prayer  and  in  the  Lord  himself  mar- 
velously  and  tenderly  blend.  He  looks  forward 
here  at  once  to  his  exaltation  in  heaven  when  his 
work  of  atonement  shall  have  been  completed. 
He  looks  still  farther  forward  to  the  time  when  all 
his  redeemed  shall  be  with  him  in  glory.  Perhaps 
we  do  not  with  sufficient  frequency  think  of  heaven 
and  its  beatific  vision.      In  health  and  in  the  midst 


THE    BEATIFIC    VISION  327 

of  present  duties  our  thoughts  cUng  to  earth  and 
earthly  things,  but  when  sickness,  disappointment, 
and  bereavement  come  there  is  wonderful  comfort 
and  inspiration  in  the  thought  of  the  eternal  peace, 
felicity,  and  blessed  companionship  of  Christ  and 
his  people  in  glory. 

This  text  has  cheered  and  comforted  tens  of 
thousands  of  God's  people  in  various  periods  of 
the  world's  history.  They  have  rejoiced  with  joy 
unspeakable  as  they  have  realized  their  exalted 
position  as  believers  in  the  Lord  Jesus.  They 
have  rested  with  unquestioning  trust  in  the  pro- 
tection which  God  supplies  to  his  people,  to  whom 
he  is  a  "  place  of  defense  and  the  munitions 
of  rocks."  They  have  looked  into  an  unknown 
future  with  unquestioning  faith  and  with  joyous 
confidence  as  they  have  accepted  the  divine  pro- 
vision, claiming  the  promise,  "  bread  shall  be  given 
him,  his  waters  shall  be  sure."  And  they  have 
rejoiced  with  a  joy  that  is  full  of  glory,  as  they 
have  in  the  long  vista  of  the  future  enjoyed  the 
believer's  prospection,  clinging  to  the  promise, 
"  Thine  eyes  shall  see  the  King  in  his  beauty  ; 
they  shall  behold  the  land  that  is  very  far  off." 
May  that  happy  realization  be  ours  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord, 


